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Photographic 

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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


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Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibtiographiques 


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D 
0 

I      I  Pages  detached/ 

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|~~|  Includes  supplementary  material/ 


D 
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Ce  document  est  filmd  au  t  jux  de  reduction  indiqu^  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


26X 


30X 


1 

'_/_ 

12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


J 


Th«  copy  filmed  h«r«  has  b««n  r«produc«d  thanks 
to  tha  ganarosity  of: 

Department  of  Rare  Books 
and  Special  Collections, 
IMcGill  University,  Montreal. 

Tha  imagaa  iippaaring  hara  ara  tha  bast  quality 
potsibia  conaidaring  tha  condition  and  lagibility 
of  tha  original  copy  and  In  kaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  spacificationa. 


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sion,  or  tha  back  covar  whan  appropriate.  All 
othar  original  copiaa  ara  filmad  baginning  on  tha 
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sion,  and  anding  on  tha  laat  paga  with  a  printad 
or  Illuatratad  impraasion. 


Thtt  laat  racordad  frama  on  aach  microficho 
shall  contain  tha  symbol  —»^(  moaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  tha  symbol  V  (maaning  "END"), 
whichavar  appliaa. 


L'axampiaira  filmA  fut  raproduit  grica  it  la 
g^n^rositi  da: 

Department  of  Rare  Books 

and  Special  Collections, 

IVfcGili  University,  Montreal. 

Laa  imagaa  suivantaa  ont  iti  raproduitaa  avac  la 
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da  la  nattati  da  l'axampiaira  film*,  at  an 
conformiti  avac  laa  conditions  du  contrat  da 
filmaga. 

Laa  axamplairaa  originaux  dont  la  couvartura  an 
papiar  ast  imprimte  sont  fiimda  an  commandant 
par  la  pramiar  plat  at  an  tarminant  soit  par  la 
damiira  paga  qui  comporta  una  emprainta 
d'Impraaaion  ou  d'llluatration,  soit  oar  la  sacond 
plat,  salon  la  caa.  Toua  laa  autres  axomplairaa 
originaux  sont  filmte  an  commandant  par  la 
pramiira  paga  qui  comporta  una  amprainta 
d'Impraaaion  ou  d'Uluatration  at  tn  tarminant  par 
la  darniira  paga  qui  comporta  una  talla 
amprainta. 

Un  daa  symbolaa  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
dami^a  imaga  da  chaqua  microfiche,  S6lon  la 
caa:  la  symbols  -^  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbolo  V  signifie  "FIN". 


Mapa,  plafaa.  charts,  etc..  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Thoae  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  expoaure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  comer,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  aa  many  framea  aa 
required.  The  following  diagrama  iiluatrate  the 
method: 


Laa  cartea.  planches,  tableaux,  ate,  pau</ent  dtre 
film«ia  i  daa  tau»  da  rMuction  diffirents. 
Lorsque  le  document  eat  trop  grand  pour  dtra 
reproduit  en  un  seul  cliche,  il  ast  film*  i  partir 
da  Tangle  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  k  droite, 
at  do  haut  en  baa.  an  prenant  la  nombre 
d'imegea  nAcaaaaira.  Las  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrant  la  m*thode. 


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REPORT 


ON    TIIK 


GOLD  PROPERTY 


oy  Tin; 


^m  ^m'k  mu\  ;^m^^  $mVm 


'^^  CV-' 


G^"  D  MINING  COMPANY, 


■■"t  AN  INTJIODITTIOX  ON  TUB 


CENERVL  STKITCTITRE  AXD  GEOLOGY  OF  THE 


NOVA    SCOTIA    GOLD    FIELDS. 


Br 


B.  SILLIMAN,  Jk.,  M.  A.,  M.  D.. 


PnOFESSOn   of  CRNKUAI.    and    APPLIKn   IHKMISTRV,    IN    VALB   COI.I.KMK,    *C.,    .•<'. 


i 


NEW-YORK: 

«t:oH(JK  K.  NhiSUirr  a  CO.,  PRINTEKs!  and  srATlUNKKS, 

COK.    PEARL  AND   MNK  STRRRT3. 

1864. 


To  Bknjamin  C.  Brzitv,  Esq. 

President  of  (he  New  York  and  Nova  Scotia  Gold  Minin<x  Company. 

Dear  Sir  : 

Having  at  your  request  visited  and  examined  the  property  of  your  Company 
at  Tangier  Harbor,  in  Nova  Scotia,  and  since  my  return  having  worked  up  my 
notes  and  the  chemical  analyses,  I  am  now  prepared  to  submit  for  your  consider- 
ation the  following  report,  to  which  I  have  prefixed  a  general  account  of  tlie 
Nova  Scotia  Gold  Region.  Supposing  that  the  information  contained  in  this  In- 
troduction, not  being  generally  accessible,  may  be  of  interest  to  those  who  give 
attention  to  this  new  field  of  enterprise, 

I  remain,  with  respect, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

B.  SHXTMAN,  Jr. 
New  Haven,  Februarij  1st,  1864. 


S 


m 


I 


INTRODUCTION. 


REMARKS    ON    THE    GOLD    RKGIOX    OF    NOVA    Sf'OTIA 
(jiKOGHAl'lIICAL  KXTKXT  AND  POSITION. 


ITS 


'I'hk  entire  Atlantic  coast  of  Nova  Scotifv,  from  Cape  Sable  on 
the  west,  to  Capo  Canscau  on  the  east,  a  distance  of  about  two 
hundred  und  fifty  miles,  is  bordered  by  a  fringe  of  hard  slaty  rock:., 
sometimes  micaceous  schists — v  ,;  usually  argillaceous — and  oc- 
casionally granitic.  These  roiks,  .hen  stratiiied,  are  always  found 
standing  at  a  higVi  angle,  sometimes  almost  vertical,  with  a  course 
in  the  main  east  and  west.  Th'  ^  seldon.  rise  to  any  great  elevation  ; 
the  promontory  of  Aspatogoen,  about  500  feet  high,  being  th^ 
highest  land  on  the  Atlantic  coast  of  the  Province.  The  er*.'  .muI 
aspect  of  the  shore  is  low,  rocky  and  desolate,  strewn  often  w  ith  hu<^e 
boidders  of  granite  or  quartzite ;  and,  when  not  bleak  and  rocky, 
is  (!overed  with  forests  of  spruce  and  white  birch. 

This  zone  of  metarnorphic  rocks  varies  in  width,  from  six  or 
eight  miles  at  its  ervStern  extremity,  to  forty  or  fifty  miles  at  its 
widest  points,  preserving  in  its  northern  boundary  only  a  rude 
j^arallelism  with  its  southern  margin. 

This  district  comprises  about  0,000  square  miles  of  surface,  and 
may,  geologically  speaking,  be  called  the  Gold  R(?gion  of  Xova 
Scotia.  Not  that  gold  is  to  be  found  in  all  parts  of  it,  but  it  is 
not  unreasonable  to  search  for  the  precious  metal  anywhere  within 
this  region  where  the  occurr./xe  of  quartz  veins — the  almost  sole 
matrix  of  the  gold — is  shown  by  boulders  on  the  surface. 

It  is  true  that  gold  has  been  found  outside  of  the  limits  here 
assigned — as  at  the  head  of  St.  Mary's  Bay,  in  Digby  Count^^ 
and  on  Breton  Island,  in  Inverness  County — and  it  is  by  no 
means  improbable  that  these  discoveries  may  extend  to  the  newer 
metamorphic  rocks  in  other  parts  of  the  Province  ;  the  analogy  of 
other  gold  regions  leading  decidedly  to  that  belief. 


6 

A  large  part  of  the  district  named,  is  little  better  than  an  unexr 
plored  wilderness  ;  and  the  fact  that  the  discoveries  which  have 
been  made,  are,  in  a  majority  of  cases,  on  l>e  sea  shore,  where 
the  coup'^rj  is  open,  and  the  search  is  easy,  by  no  means  dimin- 
ishes the  probabilities  that  continued  search,  in  the  less  frequented 
portions  of  the  region,  will  not  be  rewarded  with  new  discoveries 
as  important-  as  any  which  are  now  known.  Such,  indeed,  was 
the  discovery  of  the  Oldham  District,  made  by  two  hunters,  who 
had  heard  of  the  association  of  quartz  with  gold,  and  remembered 
in  their  hunting  excursions  to  have  seen  a  large  boulder  of  this 
mineral  in  a  denselv  wooded  tract,  now  the  centre  of  one  of  the 
most  valuable  gold  districts  in  the  Province. 


I 


GEOLOGICAL  AND    PHYSICAL   CHARACTP]R  OF  THE   GOLD 

REGION. 

There  is  no  positive  evidence  of  the  geological  age  of  the  auri- 
ferous rocks  of  the  Atlantic  border.  No  trace  of  a  fossil  has  yet 
been  found  in  any  of  the  slates,  or  associated  rocks.  Opinion 
seems  to  favor  the  belief  that  they  belong  to  the  Silurian  age,  but 
as  yet  no  place  has  been  found  where  the  rocks  next  higher  in  the 
geological  column,  may  be  seen  resting  upon  these.  Dr.  Daw- 
son, in  his  "  Acadian  Geology"  (page  3-17),  evidently  favors  the  be- 
lief that  they  are  probably  metamorphic  Silurian  rocks. 

That  the  rocks  arc  highly  altered  (metamorphosed)  is  very  evi- 
dent to  the  most  careless  .ob.server,  as  well  as  that  they  have  been 
greatly  changed  from  their  original  position  of  horizontal ity,  as 
sedimentary  rocks  by  upheavals,  which  have  tilted  them  up  to 
positions  almost  vertical.  The  same  causes  have  also  resulted  in 
the  segregation  or  infiltration  of  the  sheets  or  layers  of  white  and 
mottled  quartz,  which  are  now  the  gold  lodes,  and  charged  the 
slates  with  arsenical  and  cubical  pyrites  in  all  the  mineralized 
baiids. 

The  most  striking  physical  feature  of  this  whole  region,  to  the 

eye  of  a  geologist,  next  perhaps  to  the  uptilted  state  of  the  slaty 
rocks,  is  the  universal  evidence  of  a  high  degree  of  glacial  action, 
which  has  so  worn  down  and  polished  the  rocks,  that  their  edj^es 


,11  an  unex: 
svliich  have 
lore,  wliere 
3ans  dimin- 
frequcnted 
discoveries 
ndeed,  was 
inters,  wlio 
smembered 
der  of  this 
'  one  of  the 


HE  GOLD 

)f  the  auri- 
3sil  has  yet 
I.  Opinion 
an  age,  but 
igher  in  the 

Dr.  Daw- 
vors  the  be- 
?. 

is  very  evi- 
havc  been 
ontality,  as 
hem  up  to 
resulted  in 

wliite  and 
liarged  the 
nineralized 

"ion,  to  the 
)f  tlie  slaty 
,cial  action, 
their  edofes 


everywhere  resemble  the  leaves  of  a  book,  which  hps  been  cut 
with  a  dull  knife  in  the  binder's  press,  in  a  direction  at  right 
angles  to  that  of  the  leaves. 

Over  very  considerable  areas  tlie  glacial  scouring  has  been  so 
thorough,  that  nothing  whatever  is  left  on  the  rocks  but  the 
grooves  and  striiu,  which  accompany  their  polish.  In  other 
cases,  the  glacial  drift  is  seen  composed  of  angular,  rarely  round- 
ed, fragments  of  quartzite  and  clay  rlate,  embedded  in  a  tough 
clay,  resting  on  the  surface  of  the  polished  rocks.  This  detrital 
matter  is  auriferous,  but  the  large  amount  of  coarse,  angular  frag- 
ments of  rocks  would  render  it  very  difficult  to  wash,  even  when 
it  occurs  in  situations  where  water  could  be  conveniently  obtained 
for  sluicing.  The  gold  which  it  contains  is  coarse  and  angular, 
often  still  attached  to  the  quartz,  and  showing  but  little  evidence 
of  long  transportation.  The  "  Boulder  Lot"  at  Sherbrooke,  hat- 
yielded  a  considerable  amonnt  of  gold  from  this  glacial  drift,  and 
is  rewarding  its  owners  handsomely.  Probably  too  little  attention 
has  been  given  in  the  Province  to  this  source  of  gold.  The  (juartz 
veins  alone  having  been  the  chief  object  of  attention. 

Everyv/here  over  this  whole  district,  the  eye  of  the  observer  is 
constantly  arrested  by  the  long  lines  of  granitic  and  quartzitic 
boulders  which  have  been  left  in  trains  by  the  ancient  glaciers 
upon  the  surface  of  the  polished  rocks.  These  at  times  recall 
strongly  the  moranies  of  the  Swiss  glaciers,  and  rival  them  in  the 
magnitude  of  the  travelled  blocks.  Some  of  the  most  striking 
cases  of  this  sort  which  I  saw,  were  in  the  vicinity  of  Musquodo- 
bit  Harbor,  also  on  the  flanks  of  the  Musquodobit  Mountains,  and 
on  the  elevated  plateau  between  Jeddore  Bay  and  Ship  Harbor, 
known  as  the  Barrens.  Here  the  boulders  of  white  quartz  are  also 
very  abundant.  Some  very  conspicuous  blocks  of  a  like  char- 
acter occur  also  on  the  hills  north  of  Oldham,  in  the  vicinity  of 
Gay's  Hiver. 

The  general  couivse  of  the  stiikc  of  tiic  rocks  is  cast  and  west. 
Between  Hammond  I'laiiis  and  Tangier.  Jor  a  (listancc  of  nearly 
loo  miles,  this  cast  an.d  west  c(,>urse  is  so  marked  tluit  it  ma\'  be 
considei'ed  universal.     This  course  is  not  usually  over  o*^  or  6° 


I 


away  from  the  Magnetic  Aferidian.  and  is  usually  south  by  that 
((uantity.  But  to  the  east  and  west  of  the  points  named,  the 
strata  bend  round  to  the  sea,  so  that  the  whole  system  assumes 
very  much  the  form  of  a  long  bow,  whose  arc  or  string  is  the 
coast  line,  the  strata  at  each  end  losing  themselves  in  the  ocean. 

Conse([uently,  %r  a  great  part  of  the  whole  coast,  the  glacial 
scratches,  or  course  of  the  glacial  drift,  has  been  almost  at  right 
angles  to  the  strike  of  the  rocks.  A  most  conspicuous  exam))le 
of  this  may  be  seen  at  the  Round  Tower,  near  Halifax,  where  a 
large  surflice  of  the  harder  slates  is  completely  denuded,  and 
shows  splendidly  the  v;hole  phenomena  of  glacial  action.  These 
facts  bear  in  a  most  important  manner,  it  will  be  seen,  upon  the 
occurrence  of  the  gold.     They  account,  in  fact,  for 

THE  GENERAL  ABSENCE  OP  ALLUVIAL  GOLD. 

If  we  consider  for  a  moment  the  physical  and  geological  fea- 
tures just  described,  it  at  once  becomes  evident  that  the  great 
mass  of  loose  materials  which  came  from  the  scouring  off  of  the 
country  by  glacial  action,  has  gone  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  where 
the  gold  is  safely  deposited.  Sable  Island,  which,  by  ^[cKinley  s 
map,  is  distant  about  100  miles  from  the  shore— is  a  rfand  spit,  30 
miles  long  by  about  half  a  mile  wide,  shaped  like  a  bow,  and 
consists  entirely  of  an  accumulation  of  loose  white  sands.  Mr. 
Campbell,  the  Provincial  Geologist,  informs  me  that  he  washed 
gold  from  these  sands  in  1857,  and  that  it  was  in  very  small, 
highly  polished  scales,  like  the  fine  gold  of  California  ;\hat  it 
came  with  the  sands  which  it  accompanied  from  the  scouring  off 
of  Nova  Scotia,  no  geologist  can  doubt  for  a  moment.  It  follows 
from  this  view  of  the  case,  that  the  occurrence  of  extensive  ''  dig- 
gings" in  Nova  Scotia,  is  a  thing  not  to  be  expected.  No  long 
Sacramento  Valley  has  retained  here  the  spoils  of  the  glacial  epoch  ; 
and  this  fact  appears  to  have  been  practically  recognized  from  the 
outset,  as  compamtivcly  few  efforts  have  been  made  to  obtain  gold 
from  any  source  but  from  the  (piart/  veins. 

The  .success  following  the  washing  of  the  sands  near  Lunen- 
burg was,  liowcvcr,  encouraging,  and  there  arc  doubtless  places  of 


rock. 


9 


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)ff  of  the 
lan,  where 
cKinley's 
d  spit,  30 
bow,  and 
lids.  Mr. 
e  washed 
2rv  small, 
i;  that  it 
During  oft' 
It  follows 
five  '*  dig- 
No  long 
lal  epoch ; 
from  the 
)tain  gold 

ir  Lunen- 
plaoes  of 


considerable  extent  in  the  numerous  harbors  and  bays  of  the 
coast,  where  auriferous  sands  exist  in  remunerative  abundance. 
The  bottoms  of  some  lakes,  which  can  be  drained,  will  probably 
famish  considerable  de])osits  of  alluvial  gold ;  and  the  same  is 
true,  no  doubt,  of  certain  river  estuaries  and  masch  lands  which 
have  hitlierto  attracted  too  little  attention  ;  such,  probably,  are  the 
flats  l)ordering  on  Chedabucto  Bay. 

CHARACTERISTIC  ROCKS   OF   THE   GOLD  REGION. 

QuARTZiTE. — The  most  noticeable  rock  in  the  gold  regions  of 
Nova  Scotia,  is  a  dark  gray,  almost  black,  rock,  which  is  called  by 
the  miners  "  Whin,"  or  "  Whinn,"  a  Scotch  term  for  an  igneous 

^  rock,  resembling  trap  or  diorite.  Tlie  ro(;k  to  which  this  name  is 
applied,  in  Nova  Scotia,  is  in  reality  a  granular  quartz  rock,  pro- 
perly called  (juartzite.  It  is  a  very  hard,  compact  rock,  consisting 
of  grains  of  rpiart/  or  sand,  consolidated  into  au  extremely  firm 
mass.  Its  lines  of  bedding  are  quite  distinct,  and  it  has  three 
very  well  defined  planes  of  cleavage,  (one  of  which  is  the  bedding,) 
by  which  it  breaks  out  into  very  regular  rhombic-shaped  masses, 
so  regular  often  as  to  simulate  artificial  surfaces.  It  Is  usually 
dark  gray,  often  almost  black  in  color,  but  on  exposure  weathers 
very  nearly  white,  so  that  on  the  surface  it  presents  often  an  al- 
most glaring  appearance  in  the  sunshine.  It  shows  frequently 
abundant  stains  of  iron  from  the  decomposition  of  arsenical  pyrites 
(mispickel),  and  yellow  iron  pyrites,  with  which  it  is  always  highly 
charged  in  the  metalliferous  districts.  Tlie  fresh  cleavage  surfaces 
of  the  rock  often  glisten  as  if  with  scales  of  mica,  but  in  reality 
with  the  brilliant  cleavage  planes  of  pyrites. 

This  rock  attains  an  enormous  thickness,  and  is  undoubtedly 
the  fundamental  or  basement  rock  of  the  region.  Mr.  Campbell, 
ill  his  Ecport  on  the  Gold-Fields,  made  by  authority  of  the  Pro- 
vincial Legislature,  estimates  it  as  over  a  mile  in  thickness,  and  he 
infonns  me  that  in  the  section  of  the  railroad  at  Shubenacadie,  he 

-il  ^^^  measured  it  of  that  tliickness.     It  frequently  forms  one  wall 

^  of  the  gold-bearing  veins. 

This  rock,  according  to  the  section  which  Mr.  Campbell  has 


I 


10 

prepared,  comes  to  the  surface  sIk  times  between  the  Atlantic 
coast  and  the  northern  boundary  of  the  gold  district — sa}^  thirty  or 
forty  miles.  As  in  each  case,  the  associated  rocks  accompany  it, 
and  with  them  the  auriferous  quartz,  it  is  plain  that  if  this  stnic- 
ture  is  clearly  established,  as  that  of  the  district,  there  must  be  not 
less  than  twelve  parallel  zones  at  average  distances,  of  not  more 
than  three  miles  from  each  other,  in  which  the  explorer  may  rea- 
sonably look  for  the  occurrence  of  gold-bearing  quartz.  My  ow^n 
explorations  were  not  sufficiently  extended  to  enable  me  to  satisfy 
myself  of  the  accuracy  of  their  generaUzation,  which,  if  true,  is  of 
the  highest  economic  importance. 

Slates. — Of  the  accompanying  slates  in  which  the  gold-bearing 
quartz  appears,  and  of  the  quartz  itself,  I  shall  speak  in  sufficient 
detail  unuer  other  heads.  Nor  is  it  needful  to  dwell,  in  this  con- 
nection, on  the  granites  of  the  Musquodobit  range  or  of  the  eastern 
district. 

The  middle  districts  are  remarkable  for  the  absence  of  mica- 
ceous schists  and  of  magnesian  rocks — not  an  example  of  talcose 
slate  occurs,  so  far  as  1  have  observed,  between  Hammond  Plains 
and  the  Tangier  liiver,  but  to  the  *^ast  of  that  point  magnesian 
rocks  make  their  appearance,  and  at  Wine  Harbor  the  gold  occurs 
in  a  green  magnesian  rock,  closely  resembling  serpentine  or  indur- 
ated talc. 

Chloitic  rocks  appear  in  the  Tangier  district,  but  they  are  rare 
compared  with  the  argillites,  which  form,  next  to  the  quartzite, 
the  predominant  feature  in  the  geology  of  the  middle  districts. 


MINING  AND  DRAINAGE  OF  MINES. 

One  peculiar  physical  feature  of  this  region,  which  strikes  the 
observer  at  once,  and  also  connected  with  its  geological  structure, 
is  the  remarkable  number  of  small  lakes.  They  seem  to  be  as 
numerous  as  the  little  islands  which  dot  the  shores,  or  the 
countless  harbors  which  everywhere  indent  them  (Mi  the  Atlantic 
border.  It  appears  that  these  lakes  exist  in  conseipience,  primarily, 
of  ihc  extreme  compactness  aiul  tightness  of  the  rock  strata, 
which,  although  turned  up  on  edge,  are  so  tight  bound  as  to  shut 


le  Atlantic 
\y  thirty  or 
;ompany  it, 
P  this  strn.c- 
nust  be  not 
f  not  more 
er  may  rea- 
.  My  own 
e  to  satisfy 
l"  true,  is  of 

old-bearing 
n  sufficient 
in  this  con- 
the  eastern 

e  of  mica- 
of  talcose 
ond  Plains 
magnesian 
^old  occurs 
e  or  indur- 

3y  are  rare 
;  quartzite, 

listricts. 


strikes  the 
1  structure, 
n  to  be  as 
es,  or  the 
le  Atlantic 
,  primarily, 
jck  strata, 
as  to  shut 


I 


11 

out  almost  completely  the  percolation  of  surface  water.  This  fact 
has  an  unexpected  relation  to  mining — in  the  remarkable  absence 
of  water,  which  is  a  consequence  of  it.  In  no  place  which  I 
visited  had  the  water  proved,  thus  (a\\  a  matter  of  sufficient  mo- 
ment in  the  mines  to  require  other  aid  in  its  removal  than  a  few 
buckets  daily.  In  one  case,  in  Waverly,  the  levels  are  extended 
at  the  depth  of  110  feet  below  the  wat^r  in  Lake  Thomas,  which  is 
distant  but  a  few  paces,  and  still  the  water  accumulating  in  these 
mines  was  only  one  bucketful  in  twenty-four  hours. 

I  conversed  with  Capt.  Opie,  an  intelligent  Oornish-man,  in 
charge  of  the  rhines  and  mills  of  the  English  Company,  and  he 
assured  me  that  nowhere  in  the  Province  was  there  a  wet  mine,  or 
likely  to  be.  There  is  a  large  clement  of  compensation  in  this 
fact  for  the  hardness  of  the  rocks,  and  the  consequent  cost  of 
mining ;  and  the  same  quality  has  compensation  also  in  the  dimin- 
ished cost  of  timbering  underground.  Almost  all  the  levels  I  have 
seen  being  strong  enough  to  stand  without  timber. 

The  drainage  of  some  of  the  lakes,  which  are  favorably  situated 
for  sluicing,  will  also,  beyond  doubt,  furnish  an  available  source  of 
alluvial  gold,  as  already  proved,  at  least,  in  one  case. 

ON  THE   GOLO-BEARIXG    QUARTZ. 

There  are  two  classes  of  quartz  veins  in  Nova  Scotia. 

(1.)  Those  wdiich  cut  across  or  intersect  the  stratified  rocks  at 
various  angles. 

(2.)  Those  which  occur  parallel  to  the  rocks,  or  are,  in  geological 
phrase,  conformable  to  the  strata. 

The  first  are  usually  more  or  less  irregular  in  their  course,  and 
are  seldom  or  never  auriferous,  or  if  so,  only  to  a  very  lim'ted  de- 
gree. Such  veins  are  known  in  Nova  Scotia  by  the  local  name 
of  "Bull  Veins."  They  consist,  as  flir  as  I  have  seen  them,  of 
compact  white  quartz,  sometimes  ferruginous,  but  not  metallif- 
erous, and  what  a  Cornish  minor  would  call  ''  unkindly  for  ore." 
A  well-known  example  is  the  "cross  vein"  in  the  Tangier  Sett. 

The  second  class  of  quartz  veins,  is  the  one  whi(!h  turnishes  a 
matrix  for  the  gold.     They  are  always  ])arallel  to  the  associated 


I 


12 


slaty  roclis,  and  partake  of  the  foldings  and  irregularities  to  which 
these  are  subject.  They  are  of  all  dimensions  as  respects  thick- 
ness, from  a  mere  line  or  fraction  of  an  inch,  np  to  eight  or  nine 
ieet  or  more  The  largest  whicli  I  have  myself  measured  being  at 
Hammond  J'hiins,  where  the  Mitchell  Lode  measures  over  8  feet, 
and  the  middle  lode  G^  feet. 

As  a  rule,  the  quartz  veins  in  Nova  Scotia  are  not  large,  beingr 
more  usually  from  4  to  8  inclies,  and  the  largest  veins  in  thickness 
are  not  usually  the  richest  in  gold. 

Tiiere  are  two  very  distinct  classes  of  quartz  veins  among  the 
auriferous  lodes.  'J'he  lirst  are  of  crystalline  quartz,  often  quite 
white,  sometimes  mottled,  having  the  gold  usually  in  coarse 
visible  particles,  and  showing  a  decided  tendency  to  crystalliza- 
tion, both  in  the  quartz  itself,  and  in  the  associated  minerals. 
Such  are  the  "Negro  Lode"  at  Tangier,  :N[ontague  Lode,  Tay- 
lor's South  Lode,  at  Waverly,  and  some  of  the  lodes  at  Ham- 
mond Plains. 

The  second  class  I  should  designate  as  veins  of  a  slaty  structure, 
the  quartz  being  lamellar  or  fissile  in  planes  parallel  to  the  bed- 
ding, the  faces  of  the  lamellar  being  striated  like  the  surface  of 
the  slates,  the  color  being  usually  dark,  sometimes  blue,  or  bkck- 
ish,  sometimes  ferruginous,  and  of  an  oily  lustre.     The  gold  is 
usually  disseminated  moi-e  finely  in  these  veins,  or  lies  in  plates 
on  their  borders,  and  sometimes  is  quite  invisible.    Of  this  class  are 
the  "Leary  Lode,"  "  Field  Lode,"  "  Lake  Lode"  and  "Copper's  Lake 
Lode"  at  Tangier,  the  "  Blue  Lode"  at  Oldham,  the  smaller  veins  at 
Wine  Harbor,  and  many  others.     It  is  impossible  to  say  to  wliitih 
class  the  preference  should  be  given,  although  undoubtedly  the  first 
is  the  one  which  conforms  most  closely  to  the  character  of  mineral 
veins  in  general ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  some  of  the  most  pro- 
ductive veins  in  the  Province  belong  to  the  latter  class.     An  re- 
gards the  wall  rocks,  between  which  the  quartz  lodes  are  confined, 
in  a  majority  of  the  cases  which  I  have  myself  seen,  the  upper, 
or  hanging  wall,  is  quartzite,  and  the  lower,  or  foot-wall,  is  blue 
slate ;  sometimes  both  walls  are  slate,  but  I  do  not  find  in  my  notes 
an  example  in  which  both  walls  were  quartzite. 


13 


ies  towliich 
pects  thiclc- 
ght  or  nine 
•ed  being  at 
over  8  feet, 

large,  being 
n  thickness 

among  the 
often  quite 
in  coarse 
crystalliza- 
i  minerals. 
Liode,  Tay- 
s  at  Hani- 

y  structure, 

0  ihe  bed- 

!  surface  of 
3,  or  bkick- 
Mie  gokl  is 
iS  in  plates 
lis  class  are 
)per's  Lake 
ler  veins  at 
y  to  which 
11}'  the  first 
of  mineral 
most  pro- 
s.  Ah  re- 
3  confined, 
the  upper, 
ill,  is  blue 

1  my  notes 


The  associated  sulpluirets,  as  a  rule,  show  a  tendency,  in  some 
cases,  peihapsin  a  majority  of  instances,  to  segregate  on  the  lower, 
or  foot-wall  sic^e  of  the  vein.  In  other  cases  they  seem  to  be 
pretty  evenly  disseminated  through  the  body  of  the  ([uartz.     But 

!  the  gold  is  almost  invariably  associated  witli  thesulphurets,  where 
it  is  visible,  and  most  frequently  of  all  with  the  mispickel,  or  ar- 
senical pyrites,  although  I  often  saw  it  with  zinc  blende,  and  more 
rarely  with  galena. 

The  ''  mispickel,"  or  arsenical  pyrites,  is  frequently  found,  in 

'  considerable  masses,  on  the  foot  wall,  occurring  as  bunches,  often- 
times of  many  pounds  weight,  embedded  in  blue  slate,  and,  as  far 

P:  as  I  have  observed,  always  auriferous.  This  is  especially  the  case 
in  the  Montague  vein  at  Lake  Loon,  in  the  Leary  and  Negro  Lodes 
at  Tangier,  and  at  the  "  White  Head"  at  Oldham.  Sufficient  at- 
tention has  not  been  paid  to  this  feature  of  the  Nova  Scotia  veins, 
and  there  is  good  reason  to  believe  that,  in  many  cases,  the  miners 
have  failed  to  take  down  the  foot-wall  slate,  when  it  was  pyritous, 
not  being  aware  of  its  value,  since,  by  the  process  of  crushing  and 
amalgamating  alone,  but  a  small  portion  of  the  gold  contained  in 
the  matrix  can  be  saved.  It  demands  an  entirely  different  treat- 
ment, which  will  be  mentioned  in  its  proper  place.  At  Monta- 
gue, indeed,  it  is  evident  to  the  mostuninstructed  person,  that  the 

•   mispickel  is  auriferous,  as  hardly  a  lump  of  it  can  be  broken  with- 

y  out  exposing  scales  of  the  precious  metal,  and  the  detached  bits 
of  the  pyrites  are  notunfrequently  held  together  by  gokl  thread, 
or  little  veins,  which  are  occasionally  strong  enough  to  require  to 
be  cut  aptH't  by  a  chisel. 

As  regards  the  extent  of  the  quartz  lodes,  and  their  depth,  as  well 
as  the  uniformity  of  diffusion  of  the  gold  in  them,  it  may  be  said 
that  the  smaller  veins  are  rarely,  if  ever,  continuous  for  any  great 
distance,  or  more  than  a  few  hundred  feet.  Probabi|y  they  never 
run  over  the  intervening  valleys,  to  re-apppar  on  the  opposite  hill- 
side. But,  on  the  other  hand,  they  are  not  unfrequently  suc- 
ceeded by  another  series,  or  perhaps  the  same  vein  is  now  shut 
off,  the  slate  walls  dividing  it  entirely,  and  then,  after  an  interval, 
opening  again  with  its  former  appearance  and  thickness.     The 


14 

larger  veins  are,  as  a  '-ule,  continuous  for  much  longer  distance.: — 
not  always  without  foults,  as  at  "  Monfgue,"  where  there  is  an 
otFset  of  50  feet  or  nioi-c,  (this  is  common  also  to  all  the  smaller 
veins  of  the  sett,)  but  the  vein,  as  a  whole,  has  been  opened  more 
tlian  half  a  mile — and  the  more  powerful  veins  at  Hammond  Plain 
extend  probably  over  a  mile,  and  those  at  Tangier  about  1,500 
feet. 

In  depth,  there  is  no  doubt,  they  also  extend  as  far  as  it  is  pro- 
bable they  will  ever  be  explored.     As  regards  improvement,  in 
depth,  it  may  be  said  there  are  numerous  examples  of  several 
small  parallel  veins,  separated  at  surface  by  thin  partings  of  slate, 
which,  at  a  moderate  depth,  have  been  found  united  into   one 
powerAd  lode.     No  doubt,  the  same  fluctuations  will  be  found  in 
depth,  which  are  noticed  in  width,  along  the  surface  line,  and  the 
same  changes  in  productiveness.     There  is  a  tendency,  in  particular 
veins,  to  the  accumulation  of  gold  along  certain  lines  of  structure 
in  the  vein,  where  the  yield  is  much  above  the  average ;  and  then 
the  adjacent  parts  are  comparatively  poor.     It  has  been  observed 
that  wherever  a  remarkable  nugget  was  found  in  a  vein,  the  adjacent 
portions  were  well  nigh  sterile,  at  a  shori  distance  from  the  rich 
deposit.     A  remarkable  example   of  this  occurred  in  the  Barrel 
Quartz  of  Laidlaw's  Hill,  two  years  ago,  where  a  mass  of  the  quartz 
vein,    of  perhaps   two  cubic   feet   capacity,   yielded,   as   I   was 
informed  by  an  eye-witness,  $4,500   in  gold,  and  the  price  of 
the  stock  went  up,  in  a  few  hours,  from  $,'  to  $40 ;   but  the 
adjacent   portions  of  the   quartz,    for  a  considerable   distance, 
proved  to  be  quite  barren.     Other  things  being  equal,  those  are 
undoubtedly  the  mo.st  desirable  jodes,  in  which  there  is  a  moderate 
amount  of  gold,  evenly  diffused  in  a  po-.-erful  body  of  quartz, 
which  can  be  taken  out  at  a  small  cost  of  mining,  and  supplied 
in  large  and  steady  quantities  to  the  stamps. 

In  illustration  of  this  point,  I  will  here  quote  a  passage  from  a 
paper,  on  Gold  Mining,  by  John  Arthur  Phillips,  Esq.,  of  London, 
well  known,  on  both  sides  of  the  water,  for  his  skill  as  a  minmg 
engineer.  This  paper  was  read,  May  16,  1860,  before  the  Society 
of  Arts,  in  London.     Mr.  P.  says,  (p.  424,  vol.  10,  of  the  Societijs 


15 


r  distance.; — 
3  there  is  an 
11  the  smaller 
opened  more 
nmoiul  Plain 

•  about  1,500 

•  as  it  is  pro- 
fovement,  in 
3s  of  several 
ngs  of  slate, 
ed  into  one 
be  found  in 
line,  and  the 
in  particular 
of  structure 

e ;  and  then 
en  observed 
the  adjacent 
om  the  rich 
n  the  Barrel 
)f  the  quartz 
,  as  I  was 
;he  price  of 
tO;  but  the 
le  distance, 
l1,  those  are 
i  a  moderate 
'■  of  quartz, 
nd  supplied 

lage  from  a 
I  of  London, 
IS  a  mirnng 
the  Society 
the  /Society^ s 


t  Journal) :     "  As  an  instance  of  the  small  yield  of  gold,  whicl),  even 
%.  .  .     .  .  .  '        ■ 

I  in  Australia,  is  at  the  present  time  remunerative.     1  ({uote  the 

J  following  results  of  the  Colonial  and  Port  Philip  Company.     It 

Irnust,  however,  be  observed  that,  to  obtain  a  satisfactory  prolit 

ifrora  ores  of  this  class,  it  is  necessary  not  only  that  large  quanti- 

vtios  should  be  treated,  but  also  that  the  greatest  economy  should 

Ibe  observed  in  every  department  of  the  manipulation. 

%.     ''The  (piantity  of  quartz  crushed  by  this  Company,  between 

■^October  1st,  1860,  and  September  30, 1861,  was  32,258  tons,  from 

which  the  produce  was  24,336  oz.  6  dwts.,  being  an  average  of 

515-2  dwts.  per  ton.     The  quantity  crushed  during  the  preceding 

^ year  was  21,698  tons,  and  the  produce  17,466  oz.,  being  r.  average 

of  16  dwts.  per  ton,  showing  an  increase  in  crushing  10,J'>3  tons, 

and  on  the  yield  of  gold  of  6,870  oz.  over  the  same  period  of  thu 

'  pevious  year. 

';      "It  will  be  perceived  that  the  yield  of  gold,  per  ton,  had  ex- 
perienced a  variation  of  22  grs.,  equal  to  5|  per  cent. 

"The  total  expenditure,  per  ton,  lias  been  12  shillings;  in  the 
•preceding  year  it  was  16  shillings. 

;!     "  The  profit  on  the  quartz  crushing,  for  the  year  ending  Septem- 
Iber  30th,  was  £22,958  16s.  5d." 

:,  It  appears  from  the  report  of  Messrs.  Garnett  &  Wakelle,  of 
;/San  Francisco,  (June  15,  1863,)  on  the  Mariposa  E.state  that  the 
Princeton  Mine,  (the  best  mine  on  that  vast  estate.)  during  three 
years  last  past  furnished  62,000  tons  of  quartz,  yielding  $1,250,000, 
or  about  $20  per  ton.  While  in  the  present  year  160  stamps,  (in 
4  mills,)  in  540  days'  aggregate  work,  crushed  24,013  tons  of  quartz, 
yielding  $385,000,  or  almost  exactly  $16  per  ton.  The  best  mill 
average  27  working  days  to  the  month;  liVo  ton  of  ore  daily, 
equal  to  744  per  stamp. 

The  prese)it  averages  from  the  principal  mines  on  this  estate  are 
stated  as  follows:  Princeton  ores  nearly  thirty  dollars  per  ton, 
Green  Gulch,  (^14,  and  Mount  Ophir,  $16  per  ton. 

IS  THK  GOLD  (JOXFINKD  TO  THE  QUARTZ? 

While,  beyond  doubt,  the  quartz  veins  are  the  chi<;f  gold-l)ear- 
ing  rocks,  it  yet  remains  to  be  proved  that  they  are  the  only  one.s. 


I 


16 


It  is  commo.>  to  see  the  gold  in  the  bbie  slate  adjacent  the  quartz, 
and  1  have  seen  a  ;^()ne  ot  ([iiart/ite,  in  the  Montague  District, 
mixed  with  shite,  which  showed  "sights"  of  gokl  intlie  quart/ite, 
and  gave  over  an  ounce  to  the  ton,  on  some  tons  which  were  tried 
as  a  sample.  A  taU;ose  shite  at  Wino  Harbor,  wliich  I  liave  seen, 
is  beautifully  phited  with  gold;  and  McDonald  Sutherland,  of 
Oldham,  informed  me  that  he  had  crushed  a  slate  from  that  region 
which  yielded  him  over  an  ounce  to  the  ton.  Caution  is  certainly 
required  to  ascertain  the  truth  in  this  matter,  but  from  analogies  of 
other  gold  districts,  we  ore  authorized  in  expecting  that  the  asso- 
ciated rocks  will  sometimes  be  auriferous. 

RB.VIARKABLK   INSTAXCKS   OP    PROOUCTIVENKSS   IN  THE 

NOV^A   SCUTIA   VKINS. 

While  the  prudent  adventurer  will  regard  with  superior  interest 
the  reliable  average  yield  of  auriferous  veins,  as  the  only  safe  basis 
of  expectation,  it  is  always  pleasant  to  see  the  prizes  which  a  lot- 
tery oilers — not  forgetting  the  blaidcs,  I  took  pains  to  collect  such 
authentic  examples  as  fell  in  my  way  while  in  Nova  Scotia,  the 
official  character  which  is  given  by  law  to  the  mining  records 
rendering  it  easy  to  do  so. 

Two  poor  men  at  Isaac's  Harbor,  almost  without  capital,  com- 
menced work  on  a  quartz  lode  of  six  inches,  which,  at  a  depth  of 
thirty  feet,  became  two  feet,  and  in  four  hundred  and  two  days 
work,  they  obtained  two  hundred  and  forty-six  ounces  of  gold, 
and  had  each  a  profit  of  over  $2,000  for  their  labor.  This  was 
Claim  No.  12  on  the  lode,  and  No.  13,  the  next  one  adjoining,  is 
turning  out  even  better;  the  month  of  November  giving  eight 
and  a  half  ounces  of  gold  per  ton  for  all  the  quartz  raised. 

The  "  Triad  Co.,"  i'or  July,  from  twenty-two  tons,  obtained  one 
hundred  and  forty-five  ounces,  or  over  six  and  a  half  ounces  to 
the  ton  ;  and  the  same  company  in  August  obtained,  from  twenty- 
six  tons  nine  hundred  pounds,  eighty-three  ounces  of  gold ;  for 
October,  from  tliirty-iive  tons,  one  hundred  and  forty  ounces. 

The  TTattie  Lode,  at  Wine  Harbor,  has  vielded  sixtv  ounces  to 
the  ton,  and  sixty.six  ounces  from  one  and  a  quarter  tons  of 
quartz. 


i  Or,  in  : 
about  1 
tons  yi 

(ounces 
At\^ 


r 


quartz, 
District, 
lart/ite, 
sre  tried 
ro  seen, 
kind,  of 
it  region 
crtuinly 
logies  of 
he  asso- 


^  THE 

'  interest 
life  basis 
oh  a  lot- 
lect  suck 
;otia,  the 
records 

tal,  corn- 
el epth  of 
:vvo  days 
of  gold, 
This  was 
)ining,  is 
ng  eight 
[. 

ined  one 
)unces  to 
1  twenty- 
^old  ;  for 
ices. 

)unces  to 
■  tons  of 


' 


Butler  &  Co.,  at  Wine  Harbor,  for  September,  Irom  29  tons  took 
6<)  ounces,  and  for  October,  from  ;-}0  tons  800  lbs.  took  9.')  ounces. 

At  Jiake  Loon,  (the  Montague  propeHy,)  Uobinson  &  Co.  took  a 
nugget  of  gold,  found  in  the  misinckel,  which  weighed  22  ounces, 
and  the  stuiV  from  the  vein  has  yielded  from  four  in  six  ounces  to 
the  ton. 

A  lot  of  2.500  lbs.  of  selected  quart;^,  from  the  South  Taylor 
Lode,  in  '\Vaverly,  crushed  by  Ilulf,  yielded  22  oz.  of  gold,  while  a 
lot  of  the  same  lode,  unselectcd,  yiehled  2'}  oz.  to  the  ton. 

At  Oldham  is  a  small  vein,  of  about  an  inch  or  two  in  thick- 
ness, which  is  owned  by  four  workmen,  who  have  taken  60  o/..  to 
the  ton  of  quartz  from  it. 

Mr.  Frankfort  Davis,  owner  of  a  crushing  mill  at  Ohlham,  gave 
me  the  following  statement  from  his  ollicial  returns  on  the  quartz 
from  various  lode.i  in  Oldham  : 

4  tons  yielded K;  oz.    5  dwt. 

1  "        "        UO  '•      ;{    •• 

6     "        "        21  "    IT     " 

2  "        "        5  '•    12    " 

14    "        «        «,-,'•      6    " 

U  "  "  65  "  10  " 

13    "  "  59  "  10  " 

2    "  "  9"  12  " 

1  "  " 3  "  8  '• 

12^"  "  78"  —  " 

2  "  "  .S;{  '•  .5  " 

17i  "  "  .57  '•  —  " 

Or,  in  round  numbers,  an  average  of  iive  ounces  to  the  ton,  on 
about  100  tons  of  quartz  crushed.  While,  on  the  other  hand,  442 
tons  yielded  an  aggregate  of  only  821  ounces,  or  not  quite  two 
ounces  to  the  ton. 

At  Wine  ILirbor,  a  group  of  veins  on  the  middle  lode  has  yield- 
ed, to  the  present  depth  of  40  feet,  over  five  ounces  of  gold  to  the 
ton  of  quartz. 

Mr.  OConner,  one  of  the  four  owners  of  a  claim  on  the  Mon- 
tague vein,  informed  me  that  a  lot  of  the  quartz  from  that  vein, 
3 


ft"'' 


18 

estimated  as  800  lbs.,  yifUlo.l.  on  dry  crusliing  in  a  hand-mortar 
21  .i  ounces  of  gold,  leaving  i^till  all  tbe  small  gold  in  the  ta""    - 
which  would  probably  swell  llic  wliole  yield  to  24  ounces  for  SOO 
lbs.,  or  00  ounces  to  tli.'  ton  of  2.000  lbs. 

These  exan.i.les  might  be  multiplied  — as  every  district  has  its 
remarkable  stories-but  I  have  confined  myself  to  a  portion  of  the 
examples  which  came  to  my  own  knowl'Hlgo. 

THE  GOLD  f'OMMlSSlON-TKM'llE  OF  GOLD  LANDS. 

By  the  law  of  the  Provincial  LegislMurc,  the  conditions  of 
mining  arc  substantially  as  follows :  The  fee  of  the  mineral  lands 
is  in  the  Crown,  and  all  mines  arc  worked  on  a  royalty,  amounting, 
in  the  case  of  gold,  to  three  per  centum  of  the  gross  returns.     A 
district  having  been  determined  to  contain  gold,  it  is  declared  by 
the  Go.d  Commissioner  to  be  a  Gold  District  within  assigned  limits. 
It  is  then  surveyed,  and  laid  olV  into  -  areas,"  which,  as  the  law 
now  stands,  are  three- fourths  of  an  acre  each,  or  150  feet  on  the 
supposed  course  of  a  vein,  and   ioO  feet  in  the  oLlier  directicn. 
Any  i!.«iivi(lual  who  has  discovered  a  new  locality  of  gold,  be- 
comes, in  virtue  of  the  right  of  <liscovery.  entitled  to  one  "free 
claim"  or  "area,"  which  he  is  at  liberty  to  select  where  he  pleases. 
If  the  owner  of  the  land,  on  notice  being  given,  declines  or  ne- 
glects to  exercise  his  prior  right  of  occupancy,  (he  paying  the 
same  royalty,  however.  l>ut  a  less  sum  down.)  then  the  Gold  Com- 
missioner may  sell  to  the  first  applicant  as  many   "claims"  or 
-  areas"  as  aiv  called  for.  the  applicant  paying  down,  for  each 
"area,"  the  s  ,m    >f  t(>n  dollars,  which  is  an  advance  on  royalty. 
The  purchaser  then  becomes  obligated  to  work  the  "areas'"  he  has 
purchased,  to  the  extent  of  one  hundred  days  in  each  year,  for 
tacli  "  claim"  or  "  area ;"  but  he  may  elect  on  which  of  any  num- 
ber of  contiguous  claims  on  a  given  vein  he  will  work,  and  may 
expend  all  the  labor  required  for  the  whole  upon  that  one,  as  in 
sinking  a  shaft,  &c.     He  is  also  required  to  make  to  the  Gold 
Commissioner  a  (quarterly  return  of  the  amount  of  labor  expend- 
ed, and  the  quantity  of  gold  obtained— neglecting  to  do  which,  he 
forfeits  his  claim,  and  the  Gold  Commissioner  then  has  the  right 


10 

to  sell  it  to  anotlun-  purchaser.     All  owners  of  quart;:  mills  are 
also  rerniirod   to  render  olliciiil  returns  uncU-r  oath,  in  a  Ibrni  pro- 
seribetl  l»v  law,  of  all  <imuii/.  frushcil,  .stating  Irom  what  mine, 
and   Cor  whose  aceouut.  ;in<;   the  i[iumtiry  obtained.     This  is  de- 
signed as  a  cheek  on  tlic  miner,  as  the  two  statetnc-nts  must,  if  cor- 
rect, balance  each  other.     The  chicl'dold  Commissioner  resides  in 
Ilalitax,  i)iit  has  his  Deputies  in  .aeh  gold  district,  whoso  duty  it 
is  to  see  that  the  provisions  of  the  law  are  carried  out.  and  returns 
duly  made  each  month.  aecomj)anied  by  u  report  on  the  condition 
of  the  industry  in  the  district  represented.     From   these  returns 
the  Gold  Commissioner  prepares  acpiarterly  Exhibit,  which  he  is- 
sues in  a  "  Koyai  Ga/i.tte,''  an  exami)Ie  of  which  will  be  found  in 
the  Appendix,  marked  "A."     The  Gold  Conmii-^sioner  also  makes 
an  Annual  lleport  to  the  Provincial  Secretary,  giving  an  account 
of  the  mining  operations  in  the  several  gold  districts  ot  the  Pro- 
vince during  the  previou".  >ear.     Tliis  Keport  for  the  year  1862  is 
a  valuable  documer..  in  which   the   then   Chief  Commissioner, 
Samuel  Creelman,  Esq.,  gives  a  large,  interesting  and  important 
amount  of  information. 

The  Provincial  law  respecting  the  gold-field.s,  wrs  plainly  con- 
ceived, in  its  first  draft,  in  the  natural  idea,  that  there  was  to  be  a 
repetiti..n  in  Nova  Scotia  of  the  experiences  of  California  and 
Australia,  and  that  thousands  of  adventurers  would  flock  to  the 
-diggings,"  with  the  expectati  )n  of  washing  gold  from  auriferous 
sands.  How  completely  different  from  this  the  actual  experience 
in  Nova  Scotia  has  been,  has  already  bcjn  explained.  I  have 
given  good  physical  and  geological  reasons  why  it  should  be  so. 
It  is  plain  that  gold-mining  in  Nova  Scotia,  ac  in  California,  can, 
as  a  rule,  be  carried  on  only  Ijy  well-organized  companies  with 
sufficient  capital  to  make  systemafie  and  long-sus'.ained  exp'ora- 
tions.  Er  bis  purpose  the  small  -  areas"  (20  by  50  feet)  at  first  laid 
off,  were  ^  und  totally  inadequate,  and  those  now  made  of  three 
quarters  of  an  acre  are  much  too  small,  takf  i  singly. 

It  is  only  where  many  such  "areas'  are  taken  consecutively, 
that  a  sufticient  stretch  on  a  vein  is  obtained  to  auth.orizc  regular 
mining. 


20 


Such,  it  will  be  seen,  luis  been  the  course  adopted  by  all  com- 
panies from  the  United  States.  The  law  has  lately  received  im- 
portant modifications,  ^vitlI  a  view  to  compel  negligent  occupants 
of  adjoining  claims  to  bear  their  part  of  the  burthen  ot  keeping 
the  vein  free  of  water,  on  pain  of  forfeiture  for  neglect,  after  twenty 
days'  notice.  Suitable  provisions  are  also  needed  to  authorize  the 
extension  of  levels,  through  the  claims  of  intervening  proprietors 
in  depth,  on  eriuitable  terms ;  and  here,  no  doubt,  the  principle  ot 
the  common  law,  by  which  an  owner  has  right  of  access  to  his 
land  over  the  land  of  another,  will  api^'y. 

METHODS    OF    DRESSlMi    AND   AMAL(!AMATIN(i   GOLD  ORES 

IN    NOVA   SCOTIA. 

The  quartz  is  generally  reduced  by  stamping  mills—sometimes 
by  Chilian  mills-and  is  first  cracked  by  a  machine,  which  resem- 
bles Blake's  Stone  Breaker,  preparatory  to  stamping.     The  use  of 
lire  to  calcine  the  quartz  is  frequent,  although  not  universal,  and 
opinion  is  divided  upon  the  desirableness  of  this  treatment,  not 
that  there  is  any  doubt  of  the  saving  of  labor  and  time  in  crushing, 
but  whether  the  additional  cost  is  not  more  than  a  balance  for  its 
advantages.     The  best  stamps  arc  those  which  have  an  iron  rod, 
and  revolve  with  the  1  liter,  falling  from  ."iO  to  120  Vows  per  min- 
ute, in  batteries  of  four  ..r  six.     The  English  mills,  erected  under 
the  direction  of  Messrs.  Phillips  and  Darlington,  are  excellent  ex- 
amples of  the  best  kind  of  non-revolving  stami)s.     They  strike  in 
iron  mortars,  with  movable  linirgs  and  soles.     The  shoes,  which 
wear  longest  and   most   evenly,  arc    cast  from  the  well-known 
Fnuiklinite  iron,   a    variety  remarkable   for  hardness  and  great 
strength  combined.     The  screens  vary  in  lineness  from  40  to  80 
holes°to  the  linear  inch.     Where  the  use  of  mercury  in  the  battery 
is  adopted,  the  mortar  bed  is  heated  by  steam  or  hot  water. 

The  ..1.1  Chilian  mill,  an  edge  wheel,  is  still  in  use  ;  and  it  is  said 
tlKit,  upon  the  barrel  .piart/.  of  Laidlaw  Hill  it  has  made  better  re- 
turns than  the  stamps,  which  may  be  very  true  without  commend- 


iug  eilhor  system  very  lugiii} 


MS  it  IS  cei 


tainlv  true  that  very  few 


of  the  mills  have  done  as  well  as  they  should  <lo  in  saA  i 


lur  <r 


old. 


21 


r  all  com- 
eived  im- 
Dccu  pants 
f  keeping 
,er  twenty 
horize  the 
)roprietors 
L-inciple  of 
ess  to  bis 


3LI)  ORES 

-sometimes 
lich  resem- 
Tho  use  of 
versa!,  and 
itment,  not 
n  crushing, 
ance  for  its 
in  iron  rod, 
rvs  per  min- 
50 ted  under 
jccellent  ex- 
ey  strike  in 
hoes,  which 
well-known 
3  and  great 
)ni  40  to  80 
I  the  battery 
vater. 

I  lid  it  is  said 
de  better  re- 
it  commend- 
iiat  very  few 
tving  gold. 


The  usual  amalgamation  process  in  the  Nova  Scotia  ^Mills,  is  by 
amalgamated  plates  of  copper,  by  boxes  of  mercury  set  before 
the  stamps,  by  riflles,  shaking  tables  and  blankets;  and  a  few  use 
the  round  iron  pan,  with  mercury,  somewhat  similar  to  the  Cali- 
fornia j)lan.  but  mannged  very  dilVerently.  Such  is  essentially 
the  case  in  the  English  mills,  and  in  these  alone  and  the  New 
York  and  Nova  Scotia  Go's,  mill  did  I  observe  a  Ilundt's  huddle 
at  the  end  of  the  system  to  concentrate  and  save  the  jnrites. 

Experience  has  shown  in  California  that  the  old  system  of  amal- 
gamation by  riflles,  and  the  system  of  Goj)per  plates  covered  with 
mercu.y,  is  very  imperfect  and  unsatisfactory,  and  in  its  best  state, 
with  amalgamation  in  l)attery,  can  save  not  over  6">  to  75  per 
centum  of  the  gold  which  the  lire  assay  shows  to  bo  present. 
Hence  the  almost  universal  adoption,  in  California  and  Nevada, 
of  the  system  of  concentration  bv  the  iron  \yM\  in  mercury,  which 
is  only  a  very  highly  improved  and  methodized  arrastra  mill. 
The  one  most  usually  adopted  is  •'  Wheeler's  pan  "  and  agitator, 
or  "Hepburn  and  Peterson's  pan,"  which  is  a  somewhat  more  <;om- 
plicated  system  than  Wheeler's.  These  pans  when  properly  man- 
aged save,  it  is  said,  on  the  authority  of  "  Kustel,"'  a  mining  en- 
gineer and  metallurgist  of  great  experience,  not  less  than  95  per 
cent,  of  all  the  gold  shown  to  be  present  by  the  fire  assay. 

KoTK.— Seo  his  "  Processes  of  Silver  and  Gold  Extraction."     fcraii  Francisco, 
Cal.,1863.     Svo. 

COMPARATIVE  ADVANTAGES  OF  GOLD  MIXING  IN  NOVA 
SCOTIA  AND  ELSEWHERE. 

In  the  same  pnper  already  (juoted.  Prof.  Phillips  speaks  as  fol- 
lows of  the  o-old  bearing  veins  of  Nova  Scotia: 

"The  thickness  of  its  auriferous  veins  is  perhaps  le.ss  than 
those  of  California  and  some  other  e(.uniries,  but  they  are, 
generally  speaking,  richer,  in  visible  gold,  than  the  average 
of  those  I  have  seen  in  any  other  })art  of  the  world.  It  must 
also  be  taken  into  consideration,  that  Nova  Scotia  possesses  many 
^]^c.i,)ed  advantnnes  over  both  California  and  Australia.  Euch  of 
these  countries  is  situated  at  a  great  distance  trom  Eui-ope,  and 


22 

can  onlv  be  rcacl.ecl  after  ,.  Ions  and  expensive  passage,  and,  as  a 
„.t«,al  eonsequenee,  .ages  were,  for  a  l<,ng  '™;-«-^'"°[^ 
high,  and  provisions  proportionately  dear.   ,  N-a  ^™""' '^"     " 
e,;.t;ary,  is  .-ithin  an  easy  distanee  both  from  =""1-  ;" 
Unite.1  States    ,f  An.eriea.  and  possesses  a  eons.derable  setU  d 
population,  ofintelligent,  industrions  and  sober  people,  emtne     y 
adapted,  after  a  little  experienee,  to  beeo.ne  steady  and  efhetent 
mine,-s     The  whole  of  the  gold-bearing  portion  of  the  1  rov.nee, 
„,,„  hes   within  a   eonvenient   distance   fron>   the  coast,  winch 
abounds  with   magniflcent  harbors,  affording  ample  seennty  to 
shipoins-,  whilst  wood,   in  large  quantities,  is  to  be  everywhere 
proe'urcd  for  all  descriptions  of  tnining  ttses,  and  an  abundant 
supply  of  water  is  generally  to  be  met  with  for  the  purposes  of 
washing  and  amalgamation. 

^^From  these  circumstances,  it  is  impossible  that  wages  can  ever 
reach  the  extravagant  rates  that  mainly  led  to  the  failure  of  nearly 
all  the  aold  mining  enterprises  of  1852,  since  whicl.  period  many 
of  the  mines  have  been  advantageously  worked,  which  were  then 
abandoned  on  account  of  the  enormous  expenditure  necessary  to 

carrv  on  the  operations."  _ 

This  emphatic  testimony  from  so  competent  a  witness  as  Prof. 
Phillips,  who  is  familiar  with  t^-.e  gold  fields  of  the  world,  as  few 
others  have  had  an  opportunity  of  becoming,  leaves  nothing  more 

to  be  desired  on  this  head. 

It  will  be  useful  to  compare  the  average  product  of  a  man  s 
labor  in  the  Nova  Scotia  dold  Mines  with  the  similar  product 
elsewhere  The  Gold  Commissioners'  returns  enable  us  to  do  this 
wah  an  approach  to  accuracy.  From  this  source  I  have  prepai^d 
the  following  abstract  of  the  labor  and  products  fjr  six  months, 
ending  December  31.  1803  : 

In  July  'm  men  earned ^^^  ^^  '^'^'- 

"  Aupust,        1,1.%  ,^ 

,,     ,      ,  --A     I.  ii  .1.5  4i 

"  October,  <l->  

''December,      747    "        "       ^J^^ 

Average  per  man v^f  -* 


23 


and,  as  a 
ceecliiigly 
;ia,  on  the 
e  and  the 
3le  settled 
eminently 
id  effieient 

Province, 
ast,  which 
security  to 
everywhere 

abundant 
purposes  of 


Assuming  27  days'  labor  in  a  month,  the  daily  produce  of  the 
labor  of  one  man  is  $1.31,  not  deducting  the  cost  of  crushing. 
The  produce  of  one  man's  labor  in  Victona,  in  1860,  where 
18,'?96  men  produced  a  gold  value  of  $1,813,989,  was  31  cents  per 
day,  not  deducting  the  cost  of  crushing. 

It  is  to  be  remembered,  that  systematic  mining  by  well- 
organized  companies  is  quite  in  its  infancy  in  Nova  Scotia,  such 
organizations  being  all  quite  recent,  and  none  of  them  as  yet 
making  returns.  Tlic  returns  published  are  almost  entirely  from 
individual  efibrts  on  a  small  scale. 


;es  can  ever 
re  of  nearly 
eriod  many 
1  were  then 
lecessary  to 

CSS  as  Prof 
orJd,  as  few 
othing  more 

:  of  a  man's 
ilar  product 
us  to  do  this 
ave  prepared 
six  months, 


Bfi  each. 
30  " 
42  " 
U  " 
8()  '• 
20    " 


I 


46 


THE  GOLD  DISTRICT  AT  TANGIER. 


As  tlic  Tangier  district  waP  the  gold  Held  earliest  brought  to 
public  notice  in  the  Province  of  Nova  Scotia,  so  does  it  still  re- 
main one  <;(■  the  most  interesting  in  the  promise  ot  good  results 
to    svsten.ati<-,   and   economical   mining.     The    crowd   of  adven- 
tures Nvhc.  peopled  the  hills  of  Tangier  in    ISCA  and   18G2,  on 
the  course  of  the  -old  South  Leads."  has  indeed  disappeared,  and 
the  evidence  of  their  unsystematic   and  ill-applied   Ir.bor,  novv 
scar,  the  hills  with  numerous  gravedike  pits,  tilled  with  water,  and 
perilous  from  imperfect  covering.     If  many,  in  their  aun  sacra 
f.n^r.,  found  here  ,)nlv  a  place  to  bury  their  hopes,  others,  more 
'fortunate,  were  rewarded  with  splendid  wages  for  the.r  personal 
labor.      The   ill-considered   system   of  alh^tting   claims,  at   first 
adoined  bv  the  Colonial  Government,  in  a  manner  conipelled  the 
early  adventures  to  abandon  their  labors,  as  soon  as  the  surface 
water  accumulated  in  the  open  pits  or  shallow  levels,  beyond  the 
control  of  a  single  bucket  or  other  primitive  contnvance.     Kven 
the  most  fortunate  adventarers  were  soon  drowned  out  by  the  ac- 
cumulate waters  from  adjacent  claims,  abandoned  by  less  suc- 
cessful nei;  abors.     Nearly  all  of  these  early  efforts  at  individua- 
mining  are  now  abandoned,  and  the  claims  have  since  been  con- 
solidated in  large  companies. 

The  valne  of  the  Tangier  District,  in  the  opinion  of  Mr.  John 
Arthur  Pnillips,  of  London,  is  thus  expressed  in  his  Report  to  the 
Nova  Scotia  Land  and  Gold  Crushing  and  Amalgamating  Com- 
panv,  in  London,  1862  : 

'  iniis  is,  at  present,  one  of  the  most  important  mining  localities 
in  the  Colonv,  The  workings,  which  I  inspected  here,  are  on  a 
hill,  a  short  distance  from  the  Harbor  of  Tangier,  extending  over 
an  area  of  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  in  length,  by  about  two 
hundred  vards  in  width.  There  are  at  least  live  distinct  lodes  at 
work  within  this  band  o  meralized  ground,  varying  in  thickness 
from  live  to  tifteen  inches.  The  quartz,  extracted  irom  many  of 
these  claims,  presents  large  quantities  of  visible  gold,  and  some 
tons  weight  have  been  crushed  and  amalgamated  by  means  of  two 


i 


lro!>i 
often 
Ibrnii 
ei'inu: 
I  met  a 
^late 
lissiL 
color 


25 


)iight  to 
still  re- 
el results 
;■  udven- 
18G'2,  on 
.red,  and 
)or,  now 
ater,  and 
iiri  Mcra 
ers,  more- 
personal 
,  at   first 
)elled  the 
e  surface 
yond  the 
e.     Even 
)y  the  ac- 
less  suc- 
ndividua- 
been  con- 
Mr.  John 
:»ort  to  the 
ting  Com- 

>■  localities 
,  are  on  a 
iding  over 
about  two 
ct  lodes  at 
11  thickness 
n  manv  of 
and  some 
jaiiS  of  two 


Chilian  mills,  which  have  been  erected  on  the  spot,  and  have 
yielded  from  three  to  nine  ounces  of  gold  to  the  ton.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  the  gold  deposits  of  Tangier  will  prove  largely 
and  p^rr:  !  -.ently  valuable,  provided  a  sufficiently  ku'ge  area  can  be 
secui  .1  io  >nable  a  company  to  work  the  mines  in  a  scientific  and 
systematic  manner." 

SITUATION  AND  NUMBER  OF  VEINS  IN  THE   TANGIER  SETT. 

The  auriferous  veins  at  Tangier  occupy  a  neck  of  land  f;.iciiig 
the  sea,  in  Tangier  Harbor,  and  reaching  from  near  the  bridge, 
over  the  Tangier  Eiver,  east,  as  fai  as  the  middle  of  Rush  Lake. 
The  distance,  on  the  north  line,  is  over  half  a  mile,  and  including 
the  eastern  openings,  on  the  land  of  the  English  Company,  on 
Strawd)erry  Hill,  must  be  about  a  mile.  Within  this  ;irea,  there  are 
at  present  explored,  not  less  than  thirty  veins  of  gold-bearing 
(u.uu'tz,  large  and  .small,  varying  from  two  feet  to  one  inch,  and 
continued  search  is  constantly  adding  to  the  number.  Many  of 
the  smaller  veins,  which  are  grouped  together  at  the  surface,  will 
doubtless  unite  in  no  great  depth,  offering  important  advantages 
for  mining.  At  present,  attention  has  been  bestowed  chiefly  on 
those  veins  which  have  shown  a  good  thickness  at  surface,  and 
liave  proved  themselves  most  productive  in  gold. 

OEOLOCICAL  AND  MIXERALOGICAL  CHARACTER  OP  THE 

VEINS  AT  TANGIER. 

The  rocks,  ?  t  Tangier,  strike  almost  due  east  and  west,  not 
varying,  by  the  compass,  over  5^  or  6'-'  S.  of  E.  They  stand  at  a 
high  angle,  dipping  uniformly  soutli.  from  10^  to  SC  departure 
I'loni  the  verticle.  These  rocks  comprise,  1st.  the  ([uurtzite  be<ls. 
often  highly  charged  with  arsenical  p.yrites,  breaking  in  rhombic 
Ininns.  and  of  an  almost  basaltic  blackness  of  color,  though  w(\ath- 
ei'in'--  nearlv  white.  2nd.  The  hard  blue  slat.'s,  sometimes  also 
m.'talliferous,  especially  near  the  quartz  veins.  SometUiies  tins 
«late  is  highly  metamorphosed  and  contorted:  again,  (luitc  soft. 
ris.sile,  and  regularly  divided  by  joints,  into  rhombic  Ibnns.  Its 
color  is    generally  dark  blue,  stained   at 


surlace  ov 


I'on    rust. 


•26 

in   t,„.   „„.U>llire.-ous    z,,uc..    /^"'"f  ;f  J'   'yelrmicace'ous 

'•"■'T'  '"'        o  nn    L^or  gavncts,  aUUoagU  garnets  occur  •.. 
bat  I  sa«-  no  ton,  main  c  ^i  g  .  ^^^^  ^,^^^.^_  .,^ 

„j,  ,„„  the  1  -.  ™1"=^'    '         ,  ,^,,,  ,,,,  ,,e  of  t.o  descnr- 
iron,  or  magnetic  iioa.     ..  I  , ,.      „f  n.^  ,ocks,  and 

tions;  those  .bid.  occur  paraUc.  to  ^^'^^         intersecting 
,,,,U  are  ti,c  i^''^^"'f ''''''' I^^^Im.     Tl,e  latter 

^rv::cge.o..^j--^^^ 

more  rarely  caibonate  oi  i       ,  ^,,,,.v,Hr  iron,  iron  sinter, 

,i,„e  and  iron,  green  carbonate  ot  -^;^^^'^^ '  ,  ,„„„,„,  i„ 

,0  bo  sal,,l,u  ■  ^^^^^.^^^^^  ^,,,  ,,,  ,.,e„,.al 

gold  seems  to  '-^  "'"='  ,,,^„,c   often   enclosing  or 

m-ritc<    "r  mispickol,  anil  tnc  ii"c                                   ,..o„i^ted 

'^           ■     .  ,l„.'c  minerals.  More  rarely  tl.e  gold   .»  a^=ooia  ea 

penctraung  tbc,c  mu  e  ^^_^  ^^  ^^^.^  ^_^_.^^  ^,.^^,„g 

.,ithgalena  n.os  o     be     econe  ^        ,^.      .,^^,,,     ,,,„  „,i,piekel 

„„a  the  "■•'    l'>     ^:;^;^^.^„,.^,  ,,„,  ,i„,„,d  be  reserved  for  separate 
oecur  ni  sunicicnt  abiimlan-i.       y  ^^^ 

treat.nem.  .be  amalganratn.g  proee.      ot  n  .  ^  ^^. 

,  • ,      -I'lic  largest  masses  of  areei.  cal  p\  uu.»  aic  ' 
coutam.     ilic  la.„c.^  erystalized  and  of  con- 

U„e  slate,  fornung  i;-;  -'^^  ^^^^^^  ^,,,,  ;,,,,  ;,  „s„ally  tbe 
:*"■",:  ^ -So,,;,  often  in  little  nuggets  and  pipettes  in  tbe 
'*'^"^'";,i,,;  sometimes,  but  rarely,  beautifully  crjs  ab 
l"'T    ;  ;      :.■  a  strong  tendency  to  erystalli.afon,  of  - 

"'T     ;     lusut  a  d  bi.d,  colo.:    It  also  occurs  in  scales  and  plates 
splend.d  luetic  an.U.  ^^  ^^^^       ^^.^^^  ^„j_ 

iu  tbe  adjacent  slate,  ne,.i   tue  nnc  o 


colored 
nicaceous 
s  besides 
nr  rarely, 

occur  in 

sliore,  as 
d  cliromic 
ro  deserip- 

rocks,  and 
itersecting 

The  latter 
isignificant 

eins. 

are  yellow 
blende,  and 
arbonate  of 
,  iron  sinter, 

I  souglit  in 
:il^  believed      j 
vrites.     Tlie 
Aie  arsenical 
enclosing  or 
is  associated 

sort,  proving 
he  mispiekel 
hese  minerals 
;il  for  separate 
the  gold  they 
}  found  in  the 
d  and  of  con- 
is  usually  the 
pipettes  in  the 
ifully  erystal- 
dlization,  of  a 
ales  and  ))lates 
10  quartz,  and, 


as  already  mentioned,  implanted  in  masses  of  arsenical  pyrites, 
zinc  blende,  and  more  rarely  with  yellow  iron  pyrites  and  galena. 

Its  disposition  to  occur  at  or  near  the  line  of  contact  between 
different  minerals,  or  wherever  there  is  a  shut  or  change  in  the 
vein,  is  very  manifest.     It  also  occurs,  of  course,  in  particles  too 
small  to  be  seen  in  the  solid  quatz,  as  is  constantly  shown  by  the 
results  of  dressing.     The  quartz  veins  often  preserve  a  strikmg 
similarity  to  the  harder  slaty  bands  as  if  they  were  metamorphic 
of  the  slates.     Generally  they  are  compact  and  le-s  cellular  tnan 
the  gold  quartz  of  the  Appalachians,  often  oily  looking,  blue  a.id 
<n-ay  in  color,  thoudi  frequently  quite  white  in  some  parts  of  the 
vein.     The  walls  arc  polished  in  contact  with  the  slates,^ and 
rarelv   separated    from   them    by    any   lining   of  -fluccan"    or 
decomposed  rock.     Sometimes  near  the  surface  the  decomposition 
of  the  pyrites  on  one  wall  has  left  an  open  space,  partly  filled  by 
iron  rust  from  the  pyrites,  and  in  such  cases  this  material  is  apt  to 
be  rich  in  gold,  though  in  an  invisible  form. 

There  is\he  same  structure  also  in  the  Tangier  veins,  noticed 
elsewhere  in  the  Province,  as  respects  the  occurrence  m  them  ot 
swells  and  rolls,  alternating  with  plain  spaces ;  where  these  rolls 
occur  the  quartz  is  usually  more  auriferous,  and  the  spaces  between 
them  are  proportionately  poorer  in  gold.  . 

These  rolls  preserve  an  essential  parallelism  with  each  other, 
and  have  a  dip  obliquely  to  the  west  or  east  according  to  the 
pitch  of  the  associated  rocks,  and  parallel  to  what  has  oeen  called 
the    '-rain"  of  these  rocks,  that  is  to  say,    parallel   ^ylth   the 
airecti^n  of  the  axis  of  elevation.     As  the  shafts  and  drifts  cut 
these  swells  at  an  oblique  angle,  it  happens,  that  the  progress  of 
exploration  carries  the  work  alternately  through  pieces  of  ground 
where  the  veins  swell  or  contract,  and  where  there  are  correspond- 
ino.  differences  in  the  gold  product.    At  times  the  contraction  of  the 
vdn  .huts  it  off  Ibr  a  short  distance,  producing  tlie  impression 
I      tbat   it    is   about   to    come    to   an  end,    when,    fi-om    a   narrow 
\      thread,  it  enlarges  again  gradually  or  rapidly  t.  .ts    all  size. 
i  Tlio^n  rolls  or  swells  in  the  quartz  appear  t<.  me  to  have  had  hen 

I      oihdn  in  the  upneaval  which  has  given  the  easterly  ana  westerly 


Hi 


n 


28 


pitch  to  the  iixis  of  elevation  oi"  the  rocks,  on  the  line  of  strike, 
the  corrugations,  or  rolls  occurring  as  a  consequence  of  this 
mechanical  disturbance. 

The  distribution  of  the  gold  in  the  (juartz  is  sometimes  such  as 
to  excite  surpi-ise  at  its  abundance.     :N[r.  Campbell,  who  was  em- 
ployed by  the  Provincial  Legislatui'e  to  prepare  the  geological 
section,  and  notice  of  the  Nova  Scotia  gold  lields,  addressed  to  the 
Hon.  Jos.  Howe,  Provincial  Secretary,    [dated  Halifax,  25th  of 
July,  186;}— legislative  document,  p.  12,  4to,]   informs    me   that 
v\'hile  he  was,  in  18G1,  engaged  on  this  survey,  he  saw,  at  the  Lake 
Company's  Lead,  on  the  borders  of  Copper  s  Lake  (now  on  lands  of 
the  New  York  and  Nova  Scotia  Gold  Company),  a  mass  of  (piart/ 
of  about  a  cubic  foot  in  volume,  which  was  entirely  plated  over 
with  gold,  on  the  plane  of  contact,  on  the  south  or  foot  wall  of  the 
vein."  During  the  working  on  the  '"South  Leads"  in  181)1-62,  nu- 
merous very  showy  specimens  of  gold  were  taken  out,  particularly 
from  the  Negro  Lead,  worth  in  gold  value  from  $100  to  $325. 
During  the  past  summer  three  men,  who  were  repairing  the  road  in 
Tangier,  near  Archibald's,  in   digging  earth  from  the  road-side  to^ 
mend  the  way,  took  out  in  three  days  coarse  gold  to  the  value  of 
$950,  from   a   spot  not  o\er   three   or  four  yards  square.     Tliis 
gold  was  in  the  form  of  nuggets  and  coarse  grains,  not  at  all  worn. 
One  nuu-"-ct   weighed  sixteen  ounces,  others  eight,  six,  three  and 
two  ounces,  and  smaller.     This  spot  was  no  more  promising  lor 
such  a  discovery,  than  any  other  one  in  the  region,  and  although 
the  surface  is  covered  with  large  masses  of  qnartz,  and  it  is  plain 
from  which  dii-ection  they  must  have  come,  no  efficient  search  has 
been  made  for  the  vein  wdiich  yielded  this  gold,  which  had  ob- 
viously not  been  moved  far  from  its  original  source. 

I  have  already,  under  a  former  head,  given  the  reasons  which, 
in  my  view^  account  sufliciently  for  the  general  absence  of  allu- 
vial gold  in  the  Nova  Scotia  gold  region,  and  discoveries  like  this 
only  confirm  the  views  before  expres-sed. 


3f  strike, 
of   this 

8  such  as 
was  em- 
jeologicul 
;cd  to  the 
,  25tU  of 
me  that 
the  Lake 
u  lands  of 
of  ([uartz 
ated  ovci' 
^all  of  the 
Jl-62,  nu- 
j'ticularly 
to  $325. 
he  road  in 
lad-sidc  to 
3  value  of 
ire.     This 
t  all  worn, 
three  and 
mising  for 
L  although 
it  is  ])lain 
search  has 
.1  luid  ob- 

jns  which, 
30  of  allu- 
3S  like  this 


REPORT 


ON    THE 


§m  Hoirk  and  fova  f cotia 
(lOLD  COMPANY'S  PEOPEETY. 


SITUATION  AND  HXTKXT  OF  'II IK  PUOl'KRTY. 

The  estate  of  the  New  York  and  Nova  Srotia  Oold  Alining 
Company  is  situated  in  the  Tangier  (lold  District,  ahoiU  GO  miles 
east  of  Halifax,  at  the  head  of  Tangier  Ilarhoi'.  It  (•(ini])iises 
about  7''3  aci'cs  of  land,  in  an  yrea  measuring  nearly  hall'  a  mile 
from  east  to  west,  and  about  half  that  distance  from  north  to  south. 
Its  form  and  boundaries  will  be  understood  from  an  inspection  of 
the  accompanying  map.  It  adjoins  the  estate  of  the  Atlantic 
Mining  Company  on  the  west,  and  the  two  foi'm  together  the  most 
important  part  of  the  Tangier  Gold  District  already  described. 

F  ';ing  the  harbor  on  the  south,  it  is  aeccssil)le  foi-  vessels  of 
sufficient  draft  for  transportation  of  coal,  lumber  and  heavy 
machinerv,  wdiile  bv  land  it  is  connected  by  the  mail  route  with 
Halifax. 

Rush  Lake  forms  its  south-eastern  boundary,  and  oilers  a  con- 
venient receptacle  for  the  waste  of  the  dressing  works,  situated  on 
its  margin.  The  dry  bed  of  Coppers  Lake  forms  its  south-western 
boundary,  being  connected  by  a  canal  and  small  siwam  with  Kush 
Lake,  which  is  somewhat  lower,  and  into  which  shicing  can  be 
carried,  if  it  is  decided  to  wash  the  detritus  on  the  bottom  of 
Copper's  Lake  in  that  manner. 

The  buildings  on  this  estate  are  nunier(;us,  and  the  property  is  in 
the  midst  of  the  most  considerable  settlement  on  this  part  of  tlie 
coas<:,  an  industrious  and  thriving  village,  having  sprung  up  with 
the  development  of  the  Company's  mines,  and  those  of  the  neigh- 
boring Companies. 


80 

ClAUACri-.U  ANl.  DKVEI.Ol-.MENT  OP  TlIK  PROPF.BTY. 

TLis  i.  un.loul.t.aiv,  .t  the  present  time,  tl,e  best  develope,! 
„olu  property  in  tlie  Province  of  Xova  Scotiu.     It  «a.  to  tins  spot 
OntL  great  erowl  oi'  gol.l  hunters  ra.shed  in  18G1-02 ;  van  y 
,„,,i,„,  I.,  onriel,   themselves  by  unorganized  and  nnsystematc. 
Llll      Wlule  a  lew  were  lortunate,  the  chief  benefit  of  then-  ,11- 
direeted  labor  xvas  the  di.seovcry  and  exposure  of  a  large  number 
of  gold-bearing  veins,  now  consolidated  in  the  organ,«,t,on  of    ns 
Comnanv.    Since  its  organization  it  has  been  the  pobey  ol  tin. 
Con,  anv  to  push  its  explorations  upon  the  ntost  prom.smg  veins 
and  especially  upon  two  of  them-known  as  the  Leary  Lode  and 
the  Xe-'roLode,  bv  sinking  shafts,  driving  levels  a.id  raising  ore, 
,„  ns  to  plaee  themselves  in  a  position  to  keep  up  a  regular  system 
of  crushing  and  amalgamating.     To  this  end  they  have  built  a 
substantial  crushing  mill  ^vith  twenty-four  head  of  stamps,  apow- 
erful  steanr  endne  and  boilers,  two  Chilian  mills,  and  round  bud- 
dies  to  concentrate  and  save  the  gold-bearing  pyrites-which  have 
generally  been  rejected.     An  a.lit  level  has  been  driven  from  near 
The  level  of  Bush  Lake,  which  will  out  all  the  lodes  ,n  the  sett 
^vhen  exten,led,  but  at  present  has  reached  only  to  its  ii.tersee. 
tion  with  the  Xegro  Lode.     By  this  adit  the  ore  stuft  will  be  de- 
livered by  trams,  already  constructed,  to  the  kilns  and  ernshmg 
unll     Tn  short,  the  whole  property  has  been  laid  out  with  evident 
cn«-ineeri.,g  skill,   and  with  a  view  to  ceonomy  of    abor,  doing 
ei-c^lit  to  the  well-known  abilities  of  Capt.  M.  U  hield,  who  was 
the  engineer.     A  large  amount  of  g-ound  is  open,  and  the  .stopes 
are  in  progress  from  the  adit  to  surfivce.     The  number  o  lodes  al- 
ready opened  on  the  property  is  eleven,  to  which  may  be  added 
twenty-one  smaller  ones,  cut  in  the  exploration  ol  ^^opper s  Lake, 
•md  the  probable  extension  of  some  of  the  vems  of  the  Atlantic 
Company  into  this  property.     All  these  items  will  be  considered  in 
detai   in  their  proper  place,  being  alluded  to  m  tins  counec tioii 
merely  to  justify  the  statement  belo  .  made  of  the  f.^ward  stat 
of  exploration  and  development  of  Jiis  property.     Ot  its  gold 
product,  suffice  it  to  say,  that  it  will  compare  favorably  with  that 
in  any  district  in  Nova  Scotia. 


31 


iTY. 

this  spot 
;  vainly 
stematic 
tlieir  ill- 
;  iuimb(M' 
)ii  of  this 
y  of  this 
ug  veins, 
^oclc  and 
ising  ore, 
xr  system 
c  ))uilt  0 
^s,  a  pow- 
»und  bud- 
hicli  have 
from  near 
1  the  sett 
;  intersec- 
vill  be  de- 
crushing 
th  evident 
bor,  doing 
,  who  was 
the  stopes 
)f  lodes  al- 
he  added 
per's  Lake, 
le  Atlantic 
nsidered  in 
connection 
rward  state 
)f  its  gold 
y  willi  that 


; 


DKSCllIPTlOX  OF  TlIK  (J()U)-HEAllIN(J  l-ODEi^. 

The  general  geological  structure  of  this  district  has  already 
been  sullieieutly  considered ;  wo  will  now  eimincrate  and,  as  far 
as  necessaiy,  describe  the  gold-bearing  veins  at  present  known  to 
exist  upon  the  Company's  property. 

Commencing  at  the  north,  we  find  Urs  a  group  of  seven  veins, 
on  which,  at  present,  but  little  exploration  is  being  nuide,  but 
which  demand  specific  notice.  We  will  name  them  in  the  order 
of  their  position : 

1.     The  Four  Korth  Lorks.  —  T\ic?o  veins   vary   from  2  to  12 
inches  in  thickness.     They  have  been  traced  in  all  about  1,200 
feet  in  length.     Tt  is  interesting  to  remember  that  it  was  one  of 
this  group  Which,  in  the  month  of  October,  1860,  furnished  the 
earliest  knowledge  of  the  existence  of  gold  in  this  part  of  Nova 
Scotia.     Peter  Jvlason,  a  fisherman,  and  a  resident  land  owner  near 
the  head  of  the  Tangier  Harbor,  was  passing  through  the  woods, 
about  half  a  mile  from  his  residence,  upon  his  own  land,  when  he 
stooped  down  to  drink  at  a  small  stream  which  passes  over  the 
North  Lodes.    He  observed,  while  in  that  position,  a  shining  yellow 
sul)stance  in  a  piece  of  white  (juatz  which  abounds  thereabouts. 
Securing  the  specimen  he  satisfied  himself  that  he  too  hod  dis- 
covered^gol^^-  which  had  no^long  before  been  detcctod  on  the  head- 
waters of  the  Tangier  lliN  er. 

The  advanced  state  of  the  season  prevented  much  exploratii^n 
that  fall,  an<l,  in  the  Spring,  the  Go  nnent  took  possession  of 
the  district  through  their  agent,  and  laid  it  off  in  small  lots  upon 
tiie  supposed  course  of  the  veins. 

The  deepest  shaft  which  has  been  sunk  upon  the  Xoith  Lodes 
is  41)  feet.  The  vein  was  found  at  that  depth  very  nearly  i)er- 
pendicular.  The  gold  in  this  gr(.)up  of  lodes  is  associated  largely 
with  metallic  sulphurets  and  arsenical  pyrites.  It  is  finely  divulcd, 
but  with  an  occasional  occurrence  of  coarse  gold. 

No  data  remain  from  v  hich  to  determine  the  gold  value  of 
this  quartz  to  the  ton.  The  gold  was  extracted  by  breaking  up 
the  quartz  with  hammers  and  by  rudely  constructed  ariastras 


^4 


82 


methods  by  which,  without  doubt,  much  of  tae  goUl  was  lost, 
and  neiirlv  all  that  as.soeiated  with  the  sulphurcts  and  arscuiurets. 

The  excessively  bad  system  of  small  areas  of  120  by  ')()  feet  led  to 
the  excavation  of  so  many  shallow  surface  pits,  that  the  accumu- 
lating surface  water  socm  drove  out  the  adventurers,  who  abandoned 
their  chiiins,  and  the  ground  has  remained  since  quite  neglected. 
Tiic  mincralogical  character  of  the  North  Lodes  is  such  as  to  refer 
Ihem  U)  the  group  of  crystalline  veins.  Tlio  .juart/  is  crystalline 
and  hitfhly  mineralised,  the  abundance  of  sulphurets  being  a 
striking  peculiarity.  'J'he  color  of  the  rpiartz  is  bluish  and  without 
a:i  oily  lustre  or  slaty  structure.  I  am  informed  that  copper  ore 
and  antimony  glance  have  been  found  in  this  gioup  (.f  veins,  but 
have  not  seen  specimens  of  those  minerals  from  it. 

When  the  leisure  of  the  Superintendent  permits,  I  should 
advise  the  exploration  of  this  ground,  as  it  is  not  unlikely  to 
vield  favorable  results. 

2.  T/ic  Middle  XocZc— This  vein  hay-  not  been  worked,  al- 
tliough  it  was  among  the  earliest  discovered.  It  is  associated  with 
what  is  locally  called  a  '"  Bull  Load,"  or  cross  course,  two  to  three 
feet  thick,  intersecting  the  plane  of  statitication,  and  therefore  a 
true  vein.  Lodes  of  this  description  in  Nova  Scotia  are  usually 
barren  of  gold.  Hence  a  prejudic  irose  against  this  middle 
lode,  which  shows  but  little  sul[thurets,  and  the  quartz  of  which 
is  of  a  comi)act,  somewdiat  oilv  character.  It  deserves,  a  trial, 
how^ever,  as  soon  as  other  and  more  important  explorations  per- 
mit. 

?>.  The  Tiro  SmOi  Zo(/es\— These  were  so  luimed  because  the,> 
were  found  about  the  time  when  the  north  lodes  were  being  opened) 
and  it  was  supposed  that  they  wore  the  southernmost  of  all  the 
veins  in  the  Tangier  District.  They  arc  situated  about  50  feet 
south  of  the  group  of  nortli  lodes,  and  ai  >  separated  from  each 
other  at  surface  by  ai>out  1.')  I'eet  of  interposed  rock  ;  but  at  a 
depth  of  81  feet  from  surface  tiiey  are  only  4  feet  apart,  owing  to 
the  fact  that  the  underlie  of  the  larger  vein  is  more  rapid  than 
that  of  its  neighbor;  and  it  is  plain  they  must  intersect  or  unite 


88 


was  lost, 
•scnliirets. 
feet  led  to 
J  acoumu- 
.batulonecl 
neglected, 
as  to  refer 
}rystidline 
i  being  a 
id  without 
loppcr  ore 
veins,  but 

I  should 
iilikely  to 

orked,  al- 
iated  with 
,^0  to  three 
here  fore  a 
iro  usually 
is  middle 
;  of  whi(?h 
es,  a  trial, 
ations  per- 

?ause  the;^ 
ng  opened) 
of  all  the 
>ut  50  feet 
from  each 
but  at  a 
;,  owing;  to 
■apid  than 
;t  or  unite 


in  one  iargcr  vein  at  a  depth  of  110  feet,  if  the  same  uniform 
dip  is  maintained.  The  larger  of  this  pair  is  from  4  to  G  inches 
thick ;  the  smaller,  or  '•  little  south  lode,"  is  from  2  to  3  inches  only 
'riicy  have  been  traced  upwards  of  150O  feet  in  Icngtii.  Numer- 
ous shafts  have  been  sunk  on  them  by  the  early  explorers,  and  to 
this  day  several  of  these  have  continued  to  be  worked  upon 
adjacent  properties  They  vary  in  <lcpth  from  60  to  100  feet, 
but,  owing  to  the  want  of  organized  and  systematic  labor,  many  of 
them  have  been  abandoned. 

I  learn  from  the  local  Gold  Connnissioner  that  the  yieldof  g  Id 
from  these  lodes  was,  in  niost  instances,  highly  remunerative— 
Irom  half  an  ounce  to  six  oufiecs,  to  the  ton  of  quartz.  The 
average  was  estimated  at  three  ounces  to  the  ton,  and  in  some  of 
the  shafts  there  was  a  marked  improvement  in  depth,  owing,  no 
doubt,  to  the  mode  of  distribution  already  described  in  the  Intro- 
duction. 

The  mineralogical  character  of  the  quartz  in  these  leads  is  quite 
favorable ;  coarse  gold  is  visible  in  it,  especially  near  the  slate  wall, 
and  the  associated  minerals  are  such  as  accompany  the  most  pro- 
ductive lodes.  The  south  wall  is  a  soft  pyritous  slate,  fissile,  and 
easily  removed— conditions  higV.ly  favorable  to  mining.  The  north 
or  hanrdng  wall  is  (luartzitc  with  some  pyrites.  The  iron  pyrites 
in  l)otlx  the  'Into  and  quartz  is  abundant,  and  is  accompanied  m 
the  quartz  with  arsenical  pyrites  and  metallic  copper.  These  veins 
belong  to  the  group  of  crystalline  lodes. 

At  present  nothing  is  being  done  on  these  lodes  upon  the  pro- 
perty of  the  New  York  and  Nova  Scotia  Company,  l)utit  is  highly 
desirable  to  make  a  thorough  exploration  of  them  on  this  property 
us  soon  as  practicable.  It  will  be  seen,  by  reference  to  the  returns 
from  White  k  Esty's  Mill,  quoted  in  the  introduction,  that  the 
yield  from  the  south  leads  was  over  4^  ounces  of  gold  to  the  ton, 
A  result  so  highly  eucouraging  as  to  leave  no  room  to  doubt 
th'3  propriety  of  resuming  explorations  upon  them. 

4.  Thr^.  JOmi  Lode.—TWxs  is  a  strong  quartz  vein,  froru  one  to 
two  feet  ill  thickness,  highly  pyritous,  and  referable  to  the 
^   -        5 


3l 

fl 


II 


3^ 

class  of  slaty  veins,  with  oily  quartz,  l^ut  little  has  been  done 
in  its  exploration-being  nearly  vertical,  it  was  believed  by  those 
working  the  south  lodes,  (distant  fifty-four  feet  <.n  the  surface, 
that  they,  with  a  more  rapid  dip,  w.  uld  intersect  it  at  a  deptli  ot 
about  150  feet-a  poi'.it  which  yet  remains  to  be  proved.  It  has 
yielded,  at  surface,  small  (luantities  of  gold. 

The  foregoing  veins,  it  will  be  seen  by  the  map,  occupy  the  . 
north-eastcni  portion  of  the  property  of  the  Company,  and  have  re- 
ceived almost  no  attention  since  they  came  under  the  present  or- 
ganization. They  mav  be  regarded  as  a  kind  of  reserve  fund  for 
future  use,  when  the  time  arrives,  whieh  will  permit  the  proper 
research  to  be  made  on  them. 

We  come  now  to  consider  the  two  most  important  lodes  on  the 
propertv-certainly  those  on  whieh  the  greatest  amount  of  labor 
has  been  expended— and  which  are  of  more  immediate  interest  as 
giving  present  returns. 

5.  The  Negro  Lode.—ThQ  "  Nigger  Lead,"  as  it  is  familiarly 
called,  (because  it  was  discovered  by  two  of  the  innocent  causes  of 
the  present  war,)  is  a  large  vein  of  crystalline  quartz,  about  one  hun- 
dred feet  south  of  the  last-named.  Its  size  is  from  10  inches  to 
2  feet,  and  it  has  been  opened  over  a  distance  of  2,500  feet.  \^ 
the  Dana  Lode  on  the  Atlantic  pro"  -ty  is  the  same  vein,  as  there 
is  good  reason  to  believe,  then  it  .j  known  to  extend  over  half  a 
m\\e.  It  dips  GO  degrees  to  the  south,  resting  on  a  dark  blue  soft 
slate  for  its  under  wall.  The  hanging  wall  is  a  heavy  bedded 
quartzite,  filled  with  mispickel  and  yellow  iron  ]>yrites. 

This  vein  is,  in  many  respects,  the  most  remarkable  one  in  this 
district.  It  is  highly  crystalline,  being  the  type  of  the  lirst  class  of 
auriferous  veins,  and  carries  with  it  a  large  number  of  well  crys- 
tallized minerals.  It  has  always  yielded  the  showiest  specimens  of 
crystallized  gold  which  have  been  obtained,  some  of  which  have 
had  a  gold  value  of  $100  and  upwards.  Its  associated  minerals  are 
calc-spar— rarely  found  elsewhere  in  these  veins.  Carbonate  of 
iron,  yellow  and  white  iron  pyrites,  sometimes  very  beautifully 
crystallized,  mispickel  and  yellow  copper ;  it  has,  in  fact,  more  the 


»een  done 
I  by  th(jse 

I  surface,) 
I  (.k'ptli  ot 
I.     It  hiis 

•ccup3^  the 
d  have  re- 
present or- 
'e  fund  foi" 
the  proper 

ides  on  the 

it  of  labor 

interest  as 


famiharly 
it  causes  of 
ut  oneliun- 
0  inches  to 

00  feet,    re 

■in,  as  there 
over  half  a 
rk  blue  soft 
Lvy  bedded 
). 

i  one  in  this 
first  class  of 
f  well  erys- 
pccimens  of 
which  have 
minerals  are 
Carbonate  of 
beautifully 
ct,  more  the 


35 

aspect  of  a  metalliferous  vein  than  any  other  1  examined  in  this 
district. 

The  gold  it  contains  appears  to  be  generally  coarse — or  visible 
gold,  which,  it  would  seem,  has  been  separated  at  the  expense  of 
the  mass  of  the  quartz,  since  the  returns  from  stamping  are  not  as 
large  as  the  showy  character  of  the  specimens  would  lead  us  to 

expect. 

A  reference  to  the  accompanying  plan  will  show  that  six  shafts 
have  been  svmk  on  the  course  of  this  lode,  to  various  depths,  from 
25  to  (>0  feet.  From  three  of  those— the  Main  shaft,  Smith's  shaft, 
and  Barnes's  shaft— drifts  have  been  commenced,  and  are  being  ex- 
tern led  east  and  Avest,  to  open  the  mines  for  stoping.  The  west 
shaft,  at  the  time  of  my  visit,  was  not  yet  quite  down  to  the  ten 
fathom  level.  The  location  of  some  of  these  shafts  illustrates 
the  evil  consequences  of  the  bad  system  of  small  allotments,  lead- 
ing to  a  great  waste  of  capital  and  labor  by  compelling  adjacent 
owners  to  sink  on  their  own  land,  in  place  of  adopting  a  system  of 
consolidation,  with  a  view  to  extended  and  deep  explorations. 
This  remark  applies  with  even  more  force  to  the  Leary  vein  in 
which  shafts  were,  by  this  system,  crowded  together  in  the  most 
absurd  manner. 

But  little  stoping  lias  yet  been  done  in  the  Negro  vein,  the  ten 
fath(mi  level  not  being  yet  driven  through.  In  the  whim  shaft  T 
witnessed  the  eonnnencement  of  stoping  (overhand)  early  in  De- 
cember, and  measured  a  piece  of  ground  12  by  8  feet,  which  four 
men  had  broken  down  in  three  and  a  half  days'  time,  at  a  total 
cost  of  $1-2.60.  The  ground  broken  was  four  feet  wide,  of  which 
the  vein  measured  not  quite  one  loot;  at  twelve  cubic  feet  to  the 
ton,  the  amount  of  pi'oduct  was  not  far  Irom  8  tons— call  it  (j 
tons,  and  the  ore  would  cost  $2  per  ton  for  mining.  It  could  be 
rontracted  for  at  that  price  beyond  doubt.  This  level,  on  the  6th 
(,f  December,  was  driven  <J:3>,  feet  east  and  90  feet  west.  At  the 
west  end  the  lode  was  split  by  a  mass  of  slate,  and  at  th.e  east  end 
it  was  evidently  pinched  by  one  of  those  rolls  ..r  folds  already  de- 
scribed. The  evidence  of  this  folded  structure  was  i-lainly  visibl<> 
in  the  lode  at  other  points.     I  advised  the  mining  captain  to  send 


36 

up  the  adjacent  .late  vvlnrever  it  Nvas  seen  to  carry  arsenical  or 
other  pvrites,  or  to  be  eut  by  thread  veins  of  quartz;  since  then  it 
is  ahnost  certain  to  (.arry  coarse  gold  at  the  lines  of  contact,  or 

fine  gold  in  the  pyrites.  ,„  .     .1 

When  the  10-fathom  level  is  extended  from  "Barnes  to  the 
"  Wesf  sliaft,  the  ground  opened  by  it  for  stoping  will  be  about 
1  000  feet  Ion-,  and  will  average  ^0  feet  high.  This  wdl  yield  by 
mcasure-cairing  the  average  size  of  the  lode,  with  the  accom- 
panvino-  thin  shale,  one  foot-3,500  tons  of  ore  stuff,  or  about  one 
year's  s°upply  for  a  mill  averaging  10  tons  daily.  Assuming  the 
cost  of  mining  and  crushing  as  $4  the  ton,  which  is  probably 
about  the  fact,  all  contingencies  considered,  on  a  vein  of  tlus  size, 
it  will  be  seen  that  if  the^gold  yield  is  only  one  ounce,  or  $20  per 
ton,  the  returns  will  be  satisfactory. 

As  however,  it  is  always  a  time-consuming  operation  to  sink 
shafts  and  drive  drifts,  it  is  equally  evident  that  the  active  prose- 
cution of  these  preparatory  labors  is  essential  to  continued  suc- 
cess that  the  new  ground  may  be  well  in  hand  before  the  old  is 
completely  exhausted.  The  sinking  of  new  shafts  at  proper  dis- 
stances  upon  the  supposed  western  extension  of  the  vein  is  also 
called  for  to  open  up  the  ground  in  that  direction.  The  whim 
shaft  shouM  tlierefore  be  sunk  without  delay  to  the  BO-fathom 
level  and  downward. 

6.    The  Lrar>i  Xo(A^ -- This  beautiful  vein  is  situated  nearly 
4(0  fret  south'  of  the  "  Negro,"  and  appears  to  be  not  entirely 
parallel  with  it  or  with  the  Lake  Lode  which  is  next  south  of  it,  as 
niay  be  seen  by  glancing  at  the  map.     It  h;)<  been  very  much  cut 
open  l)v  the  surface  pits  of  early  explorers.     On  the  east  it  is  lost 
in  linsii  Lake,  at  least  it  has  not  been  discovered  in  tliat  direction, 
nor  lias  it  been  identified  beyond  the  margin  of  Copper's  Lake  on 
the  west.     Although  it  is  believed  by  some  that  it  has  at  this  point 
suffered  a  heave  to  the  north,  in  which  case  the  openings  on  the 
margin  of  the  lake,  known  as  the  "Lake  Company's  Shaft,"  may 
be  irpoii  the  Lcury.     This  cannot,  however,  be  assumed,  although 
the  mineralogical  character  of  the  (luartz  in  tliQ  two  is  not  very  un- 


37 


;enical  or 
ce  then  it 
ontat't,  or 

s' "  to  the 
bo  about 
,1  yield  by 
:ie  aceom- 
about  one 
miing  the 
!  probably 
f  til  is  size, 
or  $20  per 

on  to  sink 
;live  prose- 
tinued  suc- 
3  the  old  is 
proper  dis- 
vein  is  also 
The  whim 
•  BO-fathom 


a  ted  nearly 
lot  entirely 
nth  of  it,  as 
y  ninoh  cut 
last  it  is  lost 
at  direction, 
er's  Lake  on 
at  this  point 
nings  on  the 
Shaft,"  may 
ed,  although 
not  very  un- 


like. Both  veins  belong  to  the  2d  class  or  group  of  oily  quartz, 
with  a  more  or  less  slaty  structure,  and  mottled  with  dark  bl  le 
or  gray  patches,  with  a  white  semi-transparent  paste. 

The  Company  now  own  the  entire  length  of  this  lode,  from  the 
mi(hlle  of  Rush  Lake  westward,  as  far  as  it  is  at  present  known 
to  extend,  (perhaps  1,500  feet,)  having  consolidated  the  numerous 
small  claims  into  which  it  was  t  Hrst  broken  up.    One  ill  elfect  of 
this  former  divided  ownership,  before  alluded  to,  maybe  seen  in  the 
numerous  shafts  crowded  within  a  small  space,  there  being  no  less 
than  three  shafts  in  the  space  of  100  feet,  and  six  in  a  space  of 
-iOO  feet.    This  is,  however,  a  thing  of  the  past;  and  as  this  Com- 
pany has  not  been  put  to  the  expense  of  their  construction,  they 
have  derived  some  profit  from  the  needless  labors  of  their  pre- 
decessors. 

This  vein  is  characterized  by  its  mottled  aspect,  due  to  a  mix- 
ture of  dark  blue  and  gray  (luartz,  with  a  semi-tmnsparent  colorless 
quartz.  A  laminated  or  slaty  structure  is  also  visible  in  it,  the 
surfaces  of  lamination  being  often  striated,  and  not  unfrcquently 
coated  with  a  film  or  plating  oi  iron  pyrites  and  scales  of  gold. 
On  calcining,  the  blue  and  gray  quartz  becomes  milk  white,  and 
patches  of  skate  imbedded  in  the  vein  become  very  conspicuous. 

The  gold  appears  in  crystalline  particles,  set  like  gems  in  the 
white  (piartz,  in  threads  and  veins  penetrating  the  quartz,  an-l 
bindin..-  it  together  and  in  thin  scales,  between  the  sheets  or  folds 
of  the'slate  and  (quartz,  and  occasionally  in  the  blue  slate  itseli. 
Besides  the  visible  Q-old,  it  is  well  known  that  both  the  quartz  and 
the  in-rites  contain  invisible  gold.  Associated  with  the  gold  arc 
,n,<piekel,  zinc  blende,  yehow  pyrites  and  galena.  The  gold  is 
often  embeddcl  in  one  or  more  of  these  minerals,  a.ul  there  is 
oood  reason  to  believe  tliat  they  are  never  entirely  iVee  of  gold, 
even  where  no  particles  of  the  precious  metal  are  visible. 

The  foot-wall  or  north  side  of  this  lode  is  a  soft,  fme-grained 
li..ile  dark  blue  slate,  easily  mined  and  earrying  in  it  frc<iuently 
.onstderable  masses  of  arsc-nical  pyrites  or  mispickel,  although  it 
i^  not  as  a  ..-eneral  rule,  so  highly  eharged  with  dissemmated  pyrites 
as  the  foot-wall  of  these  veins  often  is.     I  have  advised  that,  so  tar  as 


88 


it  is  seen  to  carry  mispiekel  or  to  be  penetrated  with  thread-veins 
of  ( [uartz.  it  be  removed  and  reserved  for  dressing  for  gold.  Masses 
of  spathic  iron  and  dolomite  not  unfrequently  occur  in  this  slate 
surrounding  the  lumps  or  bunches  of  mispichel ;  native  copper  and 
yellow  copper  also  occur  in  the  vein. 

The  hanging-wall  is  rpiarlzite,  charged  with  sulphurets  and  mis- 
piekel. 

The  gold  product  of  this  vein  has  varied  from  $25  to  $80  or 
more  per  ton.  One  lot  of  30  tons  yielded  .$26  ;  39  tons  in  several 
lots  gave  $2.5  ;  another  lot  of  6  tons  gave  $84  to  the  ton,  and  a  lot 
of  WS  tons,  crushed  in  the  Chilian  mills,  when  1  was  at  the  mine, 
yielded  2  o/.  o  dwt.  to  the  ton.  Two  ounces  of  gold  to  the  ton  of 
ip.iartz  I  consider  a  fiiir  statement  of  the  vein. 

An  assay  at  the  U.  S.  Assay  Oflice,  by  Mr.  Kent,  gave  the  fol- 
lowing interestino-  results,  shov/ing  the  distribution  of  the  gold  in 
the  several  members  of  the  vein. 

1  Mixed  ure  coutaiiiiiig'  visible  gold  (in  the  ton  of  2,000  lbs.)  .$1892.17 

2  Pyritous  ore  containing  no  visible  gold       "  "  9;{.05 
;?     Black  ore  containing  no  visible         "        "            ''                  15.57 

4  Brown  ore  (ferruginous) 

5  White  ore  " 
(I     Mixed  ore,  finest  portion  sifted 


ii 
i< 


n.G3 

(12.03 


Ivxcluding  1  as  no  guide.  (3  as  comprising  the  (Others,  and  Ko.  4 
as  forming  no  important  part  of  the  contents  of  the  vein,  the 
uverage  is  $40,  or  almost  exactly  two  ounces  to  the  ton,  the 
same  as  deduced  from  actual  trial  on  the  large  scale.  —  (See 
Appendix  B.) 

The  gold  of  this  vein  assayed  at  the  \J.  S.  Assay  OQice,  yielded 
$19.97  the  ounce. 

Of  the  value  of  the  pyrites  I  shall  speak  further  on. 

The  ground  open  upon  /he  Leary  Vein  is  all  above  the  30-fathom 
level,  the  ore  still  standing  there  in  December,  being  about  fiOd  tons. 
Tills  estimate  i  no  hides  all  the  unbroken  ground  from  the  west 
shaft,  the  eastern  limits  of  tlie  present  workings,  and  above  the 
10-fathom    level,    and  assumes  an  average  of    0    inches  for  the 


39 


id-veins 

Masses 

bis  slate 

ipcr  and 

md  mis- 

:>  $80  or 
L  several 
,nd  a  lot 
le  mine, 
ic  ton  of 

I  the  fol- 
(>old  in 


92.17 
1);{.05 
15.57 
7.75 
11.G3 
02.03 

lid  Ko.  4 
/em,  the 
ton,  the 
).  —  (See 

,  yielded 

0-fathom 
P)()0  ions, 
the  west 
l)ove  the 
s  for  the 


vein.     This  was  being  taken  down  by  contract,  and  about  100 
tons  were  at  surflice  at  that  time, 

T'lie  shaft  Nos.  1  and  3  were  sinking  liy  contract  to  ■  ipen  the 
20-fathom  level.  These  works  of  exploration  cannot  be  pushed 
forward  too  rapidly,  as  it  is  evident  that  all  the  new  ground  will 
be  wanted  as  fast  as  it  can  be  made  ready.  ^Vo  sink  these  shafts, 
at  least  two  months  will  be  required  before  they  can  reach  the  20- 
fathom  level,  and  to  drive  the  levels  to  a  point,  where  stojjes  can 
be  advantageously  commenced,  will  jn'obably  require  as  much 
more  time.  A  section  of  this  vein,  60  by  100  feet,  will  contain,  as- 
suming 8  inches  as  the  widtliof  the  vein  raised,  aboiit  4,000  tons  of 
ore.*  As  the  Company  expect  to  crush  2()  tons  of  stuff  daily,  and 
Lave  the  power  to  crusli  40,  it  is  easy  to  see  how  long  such  a  sec- 
tion w^ould  last.  It  is  to  be  presumed,  however,  that  th(>y  will 
raise  at  least  half  the  stuff  required  by  the  stamps  from  the  Negro 
Lode. 

7.  'T/ie  Lahe  Lode. — About  twenty  feet  south  of  the  Leary  is  a 
lode  of  the  same  general  appearance  and  thickness  as  the  last 
named.  'J'he  quartz  is  laminated  and  its  surface  striated,  its  color 
mottled,  and  lustre  oily.  Of  its  value  nothing  is  known  at  present. 
No  deep  shafts  have  been  sunk  upon  it, 

8.  About  twenty-live  feet  south  of  the  last  named  is  a  large 
untried  vein,  measuring  from  two  to  three  feet  in  thickness,  and 
resembling,  it  is  said,  the  "  barrel  cpartz"'  of  Waverly.  This  also  is 
quite  unexplored. 

9.  The  Ferguson  Lode,  of  the  Atlantic  Company,  is  believed  to 
intersect  the  property  of  this  Company  not  hir  south  of  the  last, 
named  vein.  But  this  supposition  remains  to  be  established.  If 
it  should  prove  true,  as  from  its  strength  is  <iuite  probable,  it  will 
be  a  valuable  addition  to  the  Company's  property. 

10.  Coppers  Lahe  Co.  Lo'k.—Ou  the  boixlor  of  Copper's  Lake  a 
shaft,    foi-rv-two  feet  deep,   was  sunk  u|u>n   a   vein  n(>arly  a  foo-l 


»  in  tin.-?  estimute !  call  (!«' vein  H  inchos,  because  hoiuo  "i'  i!io  foot-wall  is  broken 
with  it. 


40 

thick,  of  blue  and  white  iiuartz,  very  pyritous,  and  carrying  about 
$21  of  gold  tothc  ton  of  quartz.  The  pyrites  have  been  estimated, 
fro.n  a  ti'ial  bv  Mr.  Wm.  Barnes,  Mining  Sui)t.  of  the  Atlantic 
Companv,  as  ni.ic  i.er  cent,  of  the  mass  of  the  vem.  The  mean  of 
two  assays  of  the  pyrites,  made,  under  my  directions,  in  the  Shef- 
lield  L.iboratorv,  gave  a  value  in  gold  of  $187.04  to  the  ton,  or 
$16.S;:;  to  the  ton  of  ore,  giving  a  value  of  $37.83  per  ton  to  the 
quartz,  aids,  then,  is  one  of  y«>ur  most  valuable  lodes,  and  de- 
mands  immediate  attention.  As  yet  tiiis  Company  has  done 
nothing  vith  it.  It  has  a  soft  black  slate  as  its  foot-wall  on  the 
north  side,  and  (piartzite  for  its  hanging  wall. 

1 1 .  Other  T  aiisSoi  included  in  the  foregoing  enumeration  are 
several  veins,  occupying  the  ground  between  the  Xegro  and  the 
Leary,  the  position  of  some  of  which  is  indicated  on  the  map, 
but  of  which  nothing  is  known  at  present. 

12.  Tlte  Copper's  LaU  Alluvkd  Gold.— "We  drainage  of  Copper's 
Lake  was  expected,  by  the  adventurers  who  undertook  it,  to  ex- 
pose to  view  an  exciting  accumulation  of  nuggets.     Disappointed 
in  this,  and  llnding  only  a  mass  of  vegetable  matter  and   mud, 
covering   a  stratum  of  glacial  drift  and  tough  clay,  after  some 
unsuccessful  search  for  the  expected  wealtli,  the  Company  aban- 
doned their  enterprise,  and  one-half  of  Copper's  Lake  now  forms 
part  of  the  ].roperty  of  this  Company,     its  total  area  was  only 
fourteen  acres.     That  its  bottom  contains  gold  is  certain  ;  but  to 
what  extent  remains  to  be  proved.     On  sinking  pits  anywhere  on 
its  surface  to  the  under-clay,  and  wasldng  the  dirt,  gold  is  found 
in  small  unrounded  nuggets,  just  such  as  are  seen  in  the  quartz, 
quite  rough  and  free  from  any  signs  of  mechanical  action.     Ac- 
companying it  is  the  hlaeh  sand,  so  characteristic  of  gold-washings. 
The  magnet  piclcs  up  more  than  half  of  the  sand  accompanying 
the  gold,  and  the  remainder  (after  the  magnetic  sand  is  removed) 
consists  of  ilraenite  or  titanic  iron,  epidote,  garnets,  &c,^   As  the 
waters  of  Tangier  Eiver  arc  at  a  sufficient  elevation,  within  a  mile 
of  this  lake,  t"^^  flow  to  the  spot  by  a  (hime,  it  is  probable  that 
the  joint   owners  of  this  lake-bottom  may  Jind  it  advantageous 


g  about 
i  mated, 
?Ltl  antic 
neari  of 
lie  Shef- 
toii,  or 
n  to  tlie 
and  de- 
ls done 
.1  on  the 


ition  are 
and  the 
he  map, 

Cop])cr's 
t,  to  ex- 
ppoiiited 
id   mud, 
ter  some 
ny  aban- 
)\\'  forms 
was  only 
1 ;  but  to 
where  on 
is  found 
e  quartz, 
on.     Ac- 
A'ashings. 
npanying 
removed) 
As  the 
lin  a  mile 
table  that 
antageous 


-41 

to  adopt  the  Californian  method  of  sluicing  this  spot,  running  the 
waste  into  Rusli  Lake,  if,  as  is  prol>al)le,  the  fall  is  sulficient  to 
give  a  proper  slope  to  the  sluice.  As  the  course  of  the  glacial 
cui-rent  has  been  such  as  to  deposit  a  part  of  its  burthen  in  the  bed 
of  this  lake,  and  several  auriferous  veins  are  known  to  exist  to 
the  north  of  it,  there  is  certainly  good  reason  to  suppose  that  al- 
luvial gokl  may  be  found  there  in  remunerative  quantity.  The 
o-eneral  absence  of  this  source  of  gold  in  Nova  Scotia,  and  its 
reason,  has  already  been  considered  in  a  former  part  of  this  report. 
The  remarkable  discovery  of  nuggets,  by  the  roadside,  in  lliis 
neighborhood,  last  summer,  already  described,  should  be  a  warn- 
inu-  not  to  overlook  this  oourceof  gold,  mined  to  hand  by  nature's 
forces  during  the  glacial  period,  whose  traces  are  so  evidently  now 
on  the  surface  of  all  the  rock.^:  of  this  region. 

The  Adit— An  adit  has  been  driven  from  a  point  indicated 
on  the  map,  near  the  Leary  Lode,  to  intersect  the  Negro,  near  the 
wbim  shaft.     This  important  piece  of  work  was,  on  the  1st  of 
December,  within  29  feet  of  the  Negro  Lode,  making  it  about  280 
feet  in  length,     It  is  proposed  to  put  a  tram-way  in  this  adit,  and 
deliver  the  stuff  at  the  kilns  and  stamping    mill  without  animal 
power.     The  or(>  from  the  Leary  Load  will  take  the  same  course. 
By  extending  this  adit  about  200  feet  further  north,  it  will  inter- 
sect the  group  of  veins  before  mentioned,  and  at  the  same  time 
explore  a  bolt  of  unknown  ground.     But,  perhaps,  tlie  most  im- 
portant service  this  adit  can  perform  will  be  the  drainage  of  the 
mines.     Tt  has  been  already  remarked  that  the  strata  of  this  region 
arc  so  close  that,  when  the  surface  water  is  disposed  of,  .there 
proves  to  be  so  little  water  in  depth,  it  is  doubtful  if  there  will  be 
nee.l  of  pumping  machinery  for  its  removal.     The  adit  provides 
■L  drain  for  the  surface  water,  all  of  which,'by  simple  contrivances, 
well  known  to  miners,  can  be  discharged  from  this  pv.t,  thus  re- 
lievinc-  the  lower  levels  completely  of  this  j^reat  source  of  annoy- 


ance. 


6 


42 

SUMMARY  OF   UKDERG ROUND  EXPLORAl'ION. 

T  fnul  from  my  notes  that,  on  the  first  of  Decembdr,  the  follow- 
ing work  had  been  done,  umlergroimd,  in  developing  the  property 
of  this  Company,  chiefly  upon  the  Negro  and  Leary  Lodes : 

Aggregate  depth  of  shuft3,  sunk  on  the  Negro  Lode,  292  ft.  15  in. 
,i  '.  "         »        "       Lcary  Lode,  l'J9  ft.  3  in. 

"      length  of  levels  driven    "       Negro  Lode,  37;")  ft.  4  in. 
a  a  "  ''        "       Lcary  Lode,  not  mcasu'd. 

T-ei)gth  of  adit '-^'^^  ft- 

Shafts  1  and  'i,  (Munn  and  Whim.)  on  the  Leary,  are  to  be  sunk 
immediately  to  tlie  twenty-fathom  level,  and  united  by  driving  at 
that  depth,  it  appears,  from  this  statement,  that  the  quantity  of 
ground  open  for  stoping  in  the  Negro  Vein  was,  on  the  1st  of 
December,  much  greater  than  that  in  the  Leary  Lode  :  much  more 
o'l'ound  having  been  removed  from  the  Leary  o.bove  the  ten-fathom 
level  than  from   the  Negro,  as  may  be  seen  by  a  glance  at  the 

plan. 

To  this  summary  should  be  added  numerous  surface  pits,  mostly 
the  work  of  the  early  adventurers,  by  means  of  which  much  kuow- 
ledrre  has  been  obtained  of  the  position  and  character  of  the  several 
veins. 

SURFACE  IMPROVEMENTS. 

1.  Tram  Boads. — A  well-considered  system  of  tram-roads  has 
been  constructed  to  communicate  from  the  adit  and  the  shafts,  on 
the  Leary  A^ein,  with  the  kilns  for  calcining  the  ore.  By  this 
means  much  manual  labor  and  animal  power  is  saved,  and  the 
expense  of  handling  the  stuff"  reduced  to  a  minimum.  TJie  wis- 
dom of  sucli  dispositions  is  evident  when  we  remember  how  large 
an  item  labor  is  in  the  cost  of  mining  and  dressing  ores.  The 
o-rade  of  the  tram-road  is  such  as  to  deliver  the  ore  at  the  head  of 
the  kilns  which  are  thus  filled  by  gravity. 

2.  The  Kilnfi. — There  are  Wo  kilns  constructed  of  (piartzite, 
and  calculated  to  hold  25  or  80  tons  each.  It  requires  three  days 
to  fill,  fire  and  discharge  a  kiln  of  25  tons  capacity.     If,  therefore, 


48 


follow- 
roperty 


)e 


sunk 


.ving  at 
mtity  of 
e  1st  of 
ch  more 
:-fatliom 
}  at  the 


;,  mostl}'' 
:li  kuow- 
3  several 


3ads  has 
hafts,  on 
By  this 
,  and  the 
^rJie  wis- 
10 w  large 
es.  The 
3  head  of 


(|uartzite, 
lirec  days 
therefore, 


20  tons  of  stuft'  per  day  is  to  be  stamped  and  dressed,  four  kilns 
of  30  tons  each  will  be  required  to  maintain  a  constant  operation. 
Ft  remains,  however,  to  be  determined  by  experiment  whether  it 
is  best  to  calcine  all  the  ore  taken  to  the  crushers.  Undoubtedly 
the  hard  white  (piartz  destitute  of  pyrites  and  of  visible  gold, 
should  be  calcined;  and  so  far  as  tlie  facility  of  crushing  is  con- 
cerned, there  can  be  no  question  l)ut  tliat  it  is  greatly  promoted  by 
calcination.  But  the  expense  of  fuel  aii<l  of  labor,  in  the  process, 
can  hardly  be  less  than  ifil  per  *^oii.  where  the  price  of  wood  is  $4:  the 
cord.  It  is  also  the  opinion  of  experienced  persons,  that  the  saving 
of  time,  and  of  wear  and  tear  in  crushing,  is  not  sufficient  to  pay 
the  additional  cost,  unless  when  arrastras  or  Chilian  ]\[ills  are 
used  in  place  of  stam[)s.  The  calcination  is  rarely,  if  ever,  carried 
to  a  suflicient  extent  to  expel  the  sulphur  from  the  sul])hurets, 
unless  on  the  outside  of  the  lumps.  But  usage  is  divided  on  this 
subject  in  well-ordered  mills,  and  probably  experience  must  decide 
in  your  case  how  far  it  is  to  your  advantage  to  push  the  process. 
If  kilns  arc  used,  It  is  plain  they  should  be  laid  up  in  Hre-mortar, 
and  not  witli  lime,  as  is  the  usual  way  in  the  Xova  Scotian  Gold 
Fields. 

Tlie  process  of  calcining  will  be  found  much  more  effectual  in 
disintegrating  the  quartz,  if  the  ore  can  be  quenched  with  water  as 
soon  as  the  fuel  is  exhausted.  Experiment  has  shown  that  quartz, 
so  treated,  becomes  exiremcly  friable  ;  and  the  stamps  w^ould,  un- 
doubtedly, pass  nearly,  or  (juite  double  the  (piantity  of  quartz 
which  had  been  quenched  as  of  the  uncalcined  ore.  It  might  seem, 
from  this  statement,  that  there  could  be  no  question  of  the  pro- 
priety of  adopting  a  system  capable  of  such  results.  Every  practi- 
cal ore-dresser  knows,  however,  that  there  are  many  other  import- 
ant matters,  needful  for  successful  amalgamation,  besides  rapid 
crushing. 

It  will  be  observed  that  a  very  important  part  of  the  gold  value 
of  the  Tangier  ores  \&  connected  vrith  the  pyrites,  and  the  concentra- 
tion and  saving  of  this  portion  of  the  ore  is  rendered  more  difficult 
by  calcination,  while  the  apparatus  used  for  the  purpose  of  concen- 
tration, must  bear  a  just  proportion  to  the  amount  of  stuff  worked, 


I 


44 

find  the  latter  cannot  be  increased  beyond  a  certain  point  without 
disturbinf^'  the  proper  working  of  the  apparatus, 

D,rssinrj-Wvds  ami  Ma ch in enj.— The  steam  crusliing  and  amal- 
gamating mill  of  the  Company,  is  a  substantial  frame  building, 
40  by  50  feet,  of  two  stories,  with  a  boiler  house  annexed. 

The  Slecni.  Enrj!,te  is  the  best  one  I  saw  in  the  Nova  Scotia 
Gold  Region.  It  is  estimated  at  fiftydiorsc  power,  has  a  cylinder 
of  fourteen  inches  diameter  and  three  feet  stroke,  with  a  tly  wheel 
of  iifteen  iect  diameter.  It  is  supplied  with  steam  from  two 
cylinder  boilcis,  forty-two  inches  diameter,  and  twenty-eight  feet 
long.  Two  small  donkey  engines  and  pumps  suMply  water,  for 
the  boilers  and  dressing  machinery,  from  a  well,  communicating 
with  Rush  Lake,  which  is  immediately  adjoining.  This  portion 
of  the  machinery  was  supplied  by  C,  IT.  Richards,  of  lirooklyn. 
N,  Y,,  and  does  much  credit  to  the  builders, 

Tlic  Stamps  are  arranged  in  four  l)atteries  of  six  each— tv:enty- 
four  heads— with  wooden  lifters,  raised  by  cams,  making  three 
blows  to  each  revolution  of  the  cam  shaft,  which  is  designed  for 
twenty  revolutions  per  minute,  giviug  sixty  blows  each  minute  of 
a  hammer  weighing  in  all  800  lbs.  The  mill  has  power  for  forty 
head  of  sumps.  As  originally  built,  the  stamps  had  wooden 
boxes.  These  have  been,  in  part,  changed  for  cast-iron  boxes 
with  four-inch  buttoms  and  six-inch  arms,  calculated  to  crush  in 
six  inches  of  w\ater,  using  mercury  in  the  boxes.  I'he  system 
adopted  also  includes — 

Tivo  CItllkm  Mills,  or  edge-stones,  running  on  cast-iron  tracks 
or  pans,  G|  feet  in  diameter,  weighing  31  cwt.  The  stones  are  of 
granite,  4'  2"  diameter  by  18'  face,  and  weighing  about  two 
tons  each.  They  make  ten  revolutions  each  per  minute,  at  an 
estimated  cost  of  four-horse  powder.  These  mills  are  fed  directl) 
from  the  stamps,  or  they  may  be  run  separately,  as  when  I  saw 
them,  being  then  fed  by  hand.     They  discharge  upon 

.Riffle  Talks,  covered  with  amalgamated  copper  plates,  designed 
to  retain  the  fine  gold  which  escapes  from  the  mills.     The  sluice 


45 

boxes,  from  the  stamps  to  tlio  mills,  arc  also  lined  with  amalgam- 
ated copper.  Beyond  the  i-illle-boards  the  tailings  [)a!=!S  by  laun- 
ders to 


Jiound  BuO.dks  in  an  adjacent  building.  24  by  45  feet,  at  a  lower 
level.  The  form  of  this  appara^;.^  here  adopted  is  that  devised  by 
iriuult.  and  introduced  lirst  in  Knglaud  and  this  country  by 
Messrs.  Phillips  and  Darlington,  the  Wfll-known  mining  and  con- 
sidting  engineers,  of  Londoi:.  A  descri])tion  of  this  huddle  may 
be  found  in  the  2liiiiii'j  and  Smeltiiif/  Jfirjccuic,  N'ol.  1.  The 
object  of  this  apparatus  is  to  concentrate  the  pyrites  by  washing- 
it  free  of  the  lighter  waste  with  which  it  is  associated.  A  (Mrcular, 
funnel-shaped  floor,  eiglitoen  iect  in  diameter,  is  prepared  with  a 
fall  to  the  centre  of  abo  it  5'',  (.).l,  inches  in  8  feet.)  Tlie  ore-stuff 
is  distributed  upon  the  outer  edge  by  four  arms,  having  sj)outs  at 
their  extremities  for  the  discharge  of  the  stream  of  ore  and  water, 
wliich  enters  at  the  center  in  a  circular  launder  surromuling  the 
shaft,  and  of  which  the  four  arms  arc  but  extensions;  canvas 
wipers  are  hung  from  the  arms  to  aid  in  the  even  distribution  of 
the  stuif;  and  when  the  due  pro])ortions  of  water.  ore-stulY  and 
velocity  of  rotation  are  observed,  it  is  said  this  apparatus  elVects  a 
sufficiently  close  separation  of  the  heavy  sulphurets  from  the  quariz 
waste.  The  valuable  portion,  of  course,  remains  near  the  head  or 
outer  3dge  of  the  buddle.  while  the  waste  is  distributed  lower 
down  the  slope,  and  the  excess  of  water  escapes  at  the  o})en  center. 
The  Engli.sh  Company  at  Strawberry  Hill  in  'J^angicr,  hav(?  erected 
one  of  these  buddies,  and  there  I  saw  the  result  of  an  experiment 
of  two  or  three  days' running  of  the  apparatus,  which  could  hardly 
be  esteemed  a  fair  trial,  as  the  mill  had  but  just  commenced  ojiera- 
tions.  Such  as  it  was,  however,  the  result  tlisappointed  me.  The 
concentration  was  very  imperfect,  and  the  separation  of  the  pyrites 
quite  unsatisfactory.  I  see,  hoTvever,  no  reason  why  the  a])paratu9 
should  not  do  as  good  work  as  can  be  obtainc'l  in  ore-dressing  on 
this  system,  which,  however,  I  do  not  think  well  ada}>ted  to  this 
purpose. 

The  house  has  capacity  for  two  such  buddies ;  one  only  has. 


46 


liovvevor,  as  yet,  been  constructed.     The  waste,  after  passino-  tlic 
biukllo,  is  (lis(;har;/C(l  into  Rusli  Lake. 

1\ik..'U  as  a  whole,  the  crusliin^r  and  amalgamating  mill  of  the 
Company  is  a  well-considered  establishment,  capable  now  of  doing 
good  work,  and  easily  modified  to  meet  the  results  of  a  more  mature 
experience,  without  interruption  of  regular  work. 

ON   THK  TRKATMKN'I'   OF   TIIK  ORKS. 

It  is  obvious,  from  what  has  been  said,  that  the  treatment  of 
gold-bearing  cpiartz  carrying  pyrites,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  ob- 
tain from  it  the  largest  possible  amount  of  the  gold  it  contains, 
is  by  no  means  an  easy  problem.  The  gold  in  fpiartz  is  often  so 
very  fine  as  to  bo  wdiolly  invisible,  even  under  a  powerful  micro- 
scope; in  fact  it  is  chemicalhj  Jhe,  and  may  be  compared  to  the 
condition  in  which  this  metal  is  precipitated  from  its  solution  by 
sulphate  of  iron.  In  this  condition  it  will  float  upon  water,  and 
even  when  much  coarser  than  this,  as  any  one  may  satisfy  himself 
by  the  simple  experiment  of  stirring  a  leaf  of  gold-beater's  gold  n\ 
a  glass  of  water.  To  bring  gold  in  this  state  into  contact  with 
quicksilver,  without  loss  of  gold,  requires  peculiar  and  very  nice 
mechanical  arrangements.  Then  the  coarse  gold  is  sometimes 
•'  rusty,"  as  the  miners  express  it,  that  is,  covered  exteriorly  l»y  a 
film  of  oxide  of  iron,  or  of  some  other  substance  which  cuts  off 
contact  with  the  mercurj^,  and  so  the  gold  escapes,  not  being  amal- 
gamated. 

The  gold  wdiich  is  associated  in'th  pjrites  is  obtained  by  the 
usual  mechanical  means,  only  very  imperfectly;  great  loss  of 
mercury  follows  the  attempt  at  amalgamation,  wdien  the  metal  is 
associated  with  arsenical  pyrites,  and  it  is  yet  an  unsettled  problem 
how  iKst  to  save  all  the  gold  in  this  association. 

In  Califcn-nia,  according  to  the  statement  of  Kustel,  the  loss  of 
gold  by  the  amalgamation  in  battery  with  a  copper-plated  plat- 
form, with  ores  containing  heavy  gold,  is  from  ;i5  to  40  per 
centum  of  the  quantity  rhown  to  exist  by  the  tire  assay ;  but 
light  gold  gives  a  less  favorable  result.  -A  great  many  fine  parti- 
cles of  amalgam  adhere  together,  including  also  manganese  scum. 


47 


i'm^  the 
I  of  the 

)rii<)iiig 

!  mature 


mciit  ol' 
s  to  ob- 
^ontain^, 
often  Fo 
1  micro- 
i  to  the 
Lition  by 
iter,  .11  ul 
'  liimself 
5  gold  in 
[let  "W'.tli 
erv  nice 
metimea 
rly  by  a 
cuts  oil' 
ng;  amal- 

by  tlie 

t  loss  of 

metal  is 

problem 

ic  loss  of 
ited  plat- 
)  40  per 
;ay ;  but 
iiiu  parti- 
jse  scum, 


if  present,  and  form  small.  s|iongy,  blackish  lumps,  which  are 
so  light  as  to  float,  and  on  account  of  being  coated  with  for- 
eign matters,  will  not  unite  with  the  accumulated  amalgam.  Of 
this  amalgam  but  very  little  can  be  saved  ;  it  ilouts  over  blankets, 
copper  }ilates  or  rii)ples.""" 

Of  amalgamation  on  coj)per-])lated  platforms,  troughs  and  other 
CO] )pcr  contrivances,  this  author  remarks  they  arc  '' very  imperfect, 
and  mostly  abandoned,"  in  California  and  Nevada. 

Certainly  the  experience  of  California  may  be  regarded  as  a 
safe  guide  in  gold  dre?:nng.  ^JMici'c  every  other  contrivance  for 
amalgamation  has  giv-i  way  to  the  "iron  pans,"  which  is  a 
highly  improved  arnisU;,  amalgamation,  and  at  i.resent  the  most 
l)erfect  gold  amalgamation  known.  Ilie  two  conditions  are  fric- 
tion and  contact  M'ith  ([uicksilver,  at  a  high  tem])erature.  These 
are  met  in  a  highly  satisfactory  manner  by  '•  Wheeler's  pans,"  the 
gold  b(>ing  extracted  by  them  as  close  as  ninety-five  per  cent,  of  the 
fii-e  assay.  The  loss  of  gold  in  the  pans  does  not  resul  from  de- 
fecti^'e  amalgamation,  Init  from  improper  discharge.  This  is  not 
the  place  to  describe,  in  detail,  the  constru('tion  of  this  apparatus. 
My  duty  is  dischaiged  by  indicating  the  best  metliods  to  bo 
adopted  for  saving  the  gold  in  j-our  veins.  That  none  of  the 
methods  now  in  use  in  Nova  Scotia  a})proach  the  perfection  at- 
banable,  is  clear  to  anv  one  at  all  acquainted  with  ore  dressin"- 
Kvery  process  which  I  witnessed  there  was  faulty  in  this  particu- 
Uir,  especially  that  it  provided  no  mear?  for  the  ccmlinued  and  in- 
irintate  contact  of  the  rjold  ivith  quiclvsilver  ;  too  much  water,  and  too 
large  an  amount  of  quicksilver  were  also  employed  for  successful 
and  economical  amalgamation.  The  "  i-on  pan"  process,  as  stated 
is  only  a  highly  improved  arrastra  amalgamation.  The  })roper 
use  of  the  •' arrastra"  (and  of  the  Chilian  mill  also)  requires  use 
of  onl_y  a  limited  quantity  of  watci-,  not  more  than  is  needed 
to  convert  the  .  e  into  a  paste,  or  thick  mud,  and  the  quicksilver 


^  "  Nevada  and  California  Processes  of  Sih-or  and  (Jold  Extraction,"  kc,  by 
(ii-iDo  KrsTEL,  Mining-Engineer  and  Metallurgist.  Illustrated  by  accurate  en- 
gravings.   San  Francisco  :  F.  I).  Carlton,  1863,  8vo,  pp.  327. 


48 

is  added,  after  tlie  ore  has  been  brought  to  this  condition,  by  strain- 
ino-  through  a  dry  cloth  over  the  paste,  one  or  two  ounces  of  quick- 
silver  for  a  charge  of  six  and  eight  hundred  pounds  of  ore.  If 
free  gold  is  found  after  tlie  amalgamation  has  been  some  time  in 
process,  a  little  more  mercury  is  added.  After  four  or  five  hours 
the  pulp  i?^  diluted  with  water,  and  discharged.  This  process  is 
]-epeated  until  one  hundred,  or  -ne  hundred  and  fifty  tons  nre 
worked  through,  the  (piicksilvei-  ilways  being  added  in  proportion 
to  the  gold  in  the  ore  from  one  to  one  and  a  half  ounces  to  each 
oui^ce  of  gold  in  the  quartz.  It  is  essential  that  the  amalgam  be 
dry,  or  else  a  loss  of  quicksilver,  and  an  imperfect  amalgamation, 
follows.  How  unlike  this  is  to  the  practice  in  Nova  Scotia,  any 
one  will  see  who  has  witnessed  the  usual  process  there. 

From  what  has  been  said,  it  will  appear  that  unless  ores  are 
very  i)yritous,  and  especially  unless  the  quantity  of  arsenical 
pyrites  is  very  great,  the  California  metliod  will  obviate  the  use 
of  any  process  of  concentration  by  buddies  or  otherwise,  and  the 
"tnilings"  may  be  safely  neglected.  Such,  1  understand,  is  the  latest 
C  ifornia  experience  in  quartz  mining.  The  gold  in  the  pyrites 
is  mechanically  but  very  minutely  divided,  and,  unless  it  is 
brought  into  forcible  contact  with  the  mercury  hy  friction,  will  not 
amalgamate. 

Even  those  ores  which  contain  gold  in  sucli  a  condition  that  it 
cannot  be  liberated  by  gihiding,  can  be  treated  in  the  pans  after 

roasting. 

The  process  of  separation  of  gold  by  chlorine,  known  as 
'•  Plattner's  Process,"  is  also  very  successful  upon  these  sulphurets, 
and  arseniurets  which  require  to  be  roasted  before  treatment.  It 
is  a  process  wliich  requires  moderate  chemical  skill,  Init  gives  re- 
sults even  closer  than  those  obtained  by  the  pan  process,  especially 
if  all  coarse  gold  is  lirst  removed  by  mechanical  means. 

None  of  a  our  ores  appear  to  me  to  rc([uire  this  treatment,  and 
it  is  therefore  needless  to  give  its  details. 

VALUE  OF  THE  PYRITES  IN  THE  TANGIER  ORES. 

The  average  quantity  of  pyrites  in  yoar  ores  is,  to  a  good  de- 
gree, a  matter' of  eon  jecturc,  but  it  lias  been  variously  estimated 


49 


from  8  to  12  per  cent.     The  following  assays  will  show   the  im- 
portance of  paying  attention  to  its  economical  working. 

No.  1.  Assay  of  a  sample  of  pyrites  worked  from  tailings  at  the 
mill  of  this  Company,  made  at  the  U.  S.  Assay  Office,  Sept.  23. 
1868,  as  reported  by  Dr.  John  Torrey,  the  Chief  Assayer.  See 
Appendix  C. 

Gold  per  ton  (of  2,000  lbs.) $122  13 

Silver     "  "  \     '  '     o  ^,7 


8124  80 
No.  2.  Pyrites  from  Lake  Company's  Lead,  crushed  at  Wliiie 
k  Esty's  Mill  on  the  Tangier  River,  Nov.,  1863.     These  assays 
were  made  Jan.  U,  13.')4,  by  0.  D.  .Allen,  Chief  Assistan    in  the 
Sheffield  Laboratoiy  of  Yale  College. 
Mean  of  two  assays  trave 

Gold  per  ton  of  (2,000  lbs.) $IS1  04 

The  silver  in  this  assay  was  not  estimated. 
No.  3.  Assay  of  pyrites  from  tailings  of  the  -'Leary  Lode." 
This  assay  was  made  Dec.  31,  1863,  by  Edward  N.  Kent,  Chemist 
and  Melter  in  the  II.  S.  Assay  Office  in  New  York,  and  gave 

Gold  per  ton  of  (2,0G0  ib.s.) $03  05 

The  mean  of  the  three  assaj^s  gives  a  value  of 

(Joia  per  ton  of  (2,000  lbs.) $134  09 

Assuming  an  average  of  8  per  cent,  as  the  amount  of  the  jn'- 
rites  in  the  ore.  then  the  gold  value  in  the  pyrites  will  reacli 
$15  20  per  ton  of  ore.  That  much  the  greater  part  of  this  value 
has  been  hitherto  completely  lost  there  can  be  no  doubt.  Tlie 
importance  of  saving  so  considerable  an  item  is  self-evident. 

ASSAY  OF  TBE  TANGIER  GOLD. 

As  compared  with  the  Calii'ornia  gold,  the  gold  of  Nova  Scotia 
is  veiy  rich,  being,  indeed,  unsurpassed,  in  fineness,  by  the  i^'old 
of  any  region. 

The  earliest  analysis  of  the  Trangier  gold,  which  1  have  seen  was 
that  made  by  Mr.  0.  C.  Marsh  of  the  Sheffield  Laboratory  at 
Yale  College,  in  October,  1861,  and  published  in  SilUmansJournnl, 
[2]  xxxii,  399.     It  is  as  follows : 


50 

Specific  Gravity 18^^ 

CJoia 98.13 

Silver 1-'^ 

Cor;)ei- .^^ 

Irra ^_^ 

99.94 
:Mr.  Marsli  says  the  gold  lie  assayed  was  "from  a  quartz  vein," 

bat  does  not  spceify  whicli;  but  as,  at  the  time  of  his  visit,  m 

1861,  explorations  were  active  in  the  group  of  north  and  south 

lodes,  it  was  probably  from  one  of  those. 

The  United  States  Assay  Office  has  lately  made  an  assay  of  the 

gold  from  the  ''  Lcary  Lode,"  with  the  following  results : 

Before  meltiii,^,  55.47  ounces ;  after  melting,  5,298  ounces  ;  fineness,  vVF.f,, ; 
vulue  of  tl.e  gold,  $1,057  96  ,  for  parting  coinage  and  fine  bars,  $5  29  ;  net 
value  81,052  G7. 

The  declared  value  of  this  gold  is  $19.97  per  ounce,  troy. 

An  assay  of  the  gold  from  the  Field  Lode,  on  the  Atlantic 
Company's  land,    lately  made  here,  gives,  as  the   mean  of  two 

assays — 

Uold '^7.25 

Silver 2.75 

Equal  10  972 .V  thousandth  hue,  and,  by  the  California  tables, 
worth  S-20.10  per  ounce,  not  estimating  the  silver. 

GOLD  IN  DEPTH. 

There  has  been  a  notion  long  entertained,  and  having  its  origin 
in  .so  high  an  authority  as  Humboldt,  that  gold  was  always  con- 
fined to"^  comparatively  shallow  depths :  that  quartz  veins  were 
richest  at  surface,  and  would  be  found  comparatively  barren  in 
depth.     Experience,  in  both  California  and  Australia,  and  so  far 
as  it  has  gone  in  Nova  Scotia,  also,  has  set  aside  this  hypothesis  as 
untenable.     T  have,  in  the  introduction,  given  the  reasons  which 
lead  me  to  the  opinion  that  just  the  same  variations  in  depth  will 
be  found  which  have  l)een  observed  in  length  on  the  veins  and 
from  the  same  causes.     T^iere  certainly  exists  no  reason  to  fear 
exhaustion  in  any  depth  to  which  tlie  mines  are  likely  to  be  ex- 
plored. 


51 


•t/  vein, 
;  visit,  ill 
lid  south 

;ay  of  tlie 

i>oaa        ■"jf'     • 
imsB,     1  (jiiil  » 

t?5  2!)  ;  net 

oy. 

Atlantic 
n  of  two 


lia  tables, 


;  Its  origin 
ways  con- 
ic'ms  were 

barren  in 
and  so  far 
potliesis  as 
sons  wliich 

depth  will 
3  veins  and 
ison  to  fear 
V  to  be  cx- 


FUTURE  DEVELOPMENTS  OP  THE  PROPERTY. 

The  success  of  the  most  valuable  mining  property  may  be 
blasted  by  the  adoption  of  a  mistaken  principle  of  management. 
The  desire  for  early  returns  to  stockholders  often  leads  to  a  short- 
sighted system  of  hand-to-mouth  administration,  the  result  of 
which  is  uniformly  fatal.  The  mine  is  robbed  to  secure  a  specious 
show  of  dividends,  and  then  follows  an  unproductive  period,  in 
which  the  manager  finds  an  empty  trcasuiy  and  no  power  of  new 
calls  on  the  owners,  or  a  reluctant  response,  ending  soon  in  the 
abandonment  of  the  enterprise.  Such  is  sure  to  be  the  case 
wlienever  works  of  exploration  arc  suspended.  The  process  of 
extraction  is  easy  and  rapid.  The  remorseless  jaws  of  the  crusher 
devour  daily,  it  may  be  ten,  twenty,  fifty  tons  of  ore  ;  and,  mucii 
sooner  than  he  expects,  the  manager  finds  himself  without  stoping 
ground,  and  nothing  before  him  but  dreary  months  of  sinking 
shafts  and  driving  levels,  in  which.  Init  a  limited  force  can  be 
employed.  The  organization  of  the  mine  is  demoralized ;  the 
expenses  of  administration  and  of  the  plant  continues  undiminish- 
ed ;  the  mill  rests  idle  lor  want  of  ore,  while  the  labor  of 
exploration  is  being  prosecuted.  Every  one  who  has  had  any 
familiarity  with  the  history  of  mining,  in  America  especially, 
will  admit  the  truth  of  this  picture.  The  cure  is  simple  and  un- 
filing. The  work  of  exploration  must  never  sloj).  and  rn'jsi  he 
ahcaijs  well  in  advance  of  the  ivork  of  extraction. 

Another  important  consideration  besides  those  alreadv  named 
urges  the  adoption  of  this  policy.  It  is  unreasonable  to  expect 
tliat  any  of  the  veins  on  your  property,  will  prove  equally  re- 
munerative in  all  parts.  There  will  be  some  places  too  poor  to 
pay  for  working,  or  the  veins  may  be  pinched  olf  to  a  narrow 
thread,  enlarging  again  to  perhaps  more  than  average  size  at  no 
great  distance.  These  inequalities  are  of  little  importance,  and 
by  no  means  causes  of  discouragem.ent,  if  they  are  known  to 
exist  in  advance.  But,  suppose  the  policy  of  temporizing  to  pre- 
vail, and  such  a  condition  as  the  last  named  to  occur,  discourage- 
ment would  be  unavoidable.  Moreover,  supposing  the  worst 
case  possible,  namely,  the  actual  loss  of  the  vein  in  depth,  either 


I 


52 


by  a  fault  or  heave,  or  by  actual  dwindling  to  notliing— if  the 
explorations  are  well  in  advance  of  extraction,  the  manager  sees 
at  once  the  danger  before  him,  and,  with  prudent  energy,  com- 
mences timelv  researches  on  another  vein,  or  in  a  new  part  of  the 
old  one,  and  thus  disaster  is  averted. 

In  view  of  these  considerations,  I  trust,  I  may  be  pardoned  if  I 
seem  to  assume  the  direction  of  the  policy  of  your  Company. 
The  principles  laid  down  are  of  universal  application,  and  if  they 
do  not  seem  to  apply  to  a  given  case,  it  must  be  either  that  the 
enterprise  alladed  to  is  not  worth  prosecution,  or  that  those  who 
have  it  in  charge  are  incompetent  to  the  task  in  hand. 

CONCLUSIONS, 

The  facts  and  arguments  presented  in  the  foregoing  Keport  ap- 
pear to  warrant  the  following  conclusions  : 

1st.  You  have  at  Tangier  a  valuable  gold  property,  well  de- 
veloped, as  compared  with  other  properties  in  Nova  Scotia,  and 
capable,  with  good  management,  of  returning  satisfactory  divid- 
ends to  vour  stockholders.  , 

2d.  Of  alunit  HO  gold-bearing  veins  known  to  exist  on  your 
property,  you  at  present  work  only  two.  Prudence  would  dictate 
that  you  should  soon  explore  some  of  the  others,  of  which  the 
most  promising  perhaps  are  the  Lake  Company's  Lode,  and  the 
group  of  veins  north  of  the  Negro,  which  can  be  cut  in  depth  by 
extending  the  adit  until  it  intersects  them. 

3d.  The  main  shafts  on  the  Negro  and  Leary  should  be  sunk 
uninterruptedly,  and  of  a  size  adequate  to  work  the  mine  in  depth, 
providing  lad<Ier-ways  ami  space  for  pumps  if  they  are  hereafter 
required.  The  levels  at  the  20-30  &c.  fathoms  depth  to  be  driven 
both  ways  as  fast  as  they  are  reached. 

4th.  Your  dressing  works  arc  capable  of  disposing  of  all  the 
ore  yoLi  arc  likely  to  be  able  to  supply,  having  a  capacity  for  40 
tons  daily,  and  power  enough  to  drive  them.  The  system  of 
amalgamation  is  perhaps  as  good  as  any  nov/  in  action  in  the 


^^^ 


if  tbe 


53 

Province,  but  fulls  far  short  of  saving  all  tbe  gold,  especially  in 
the  pyrites.  It  is,  however,  capable  of  making  immediate  re- 
turns, and  no  interruption  need  be  experienced  in  its  modifica- 
tion: The  tailings  should  be  so  disposed  of,  that  if  desirable, 
they  can  be  worked  over  again  liereaftcr. 

5th,  The  introduction  of  the  Californian  system  of  amalgama- 
tion l)y  the  use  of  Wheeler's  or  Hepburn's  iron  pans,  heated  by 
steam,  is  earnestly  recommended  as  likely  to  add  largely  to  the 
gold  product  of  the  mine, 

Gth,  Your  position  on  the  water  is  highly  favorable  for  cheap 
freights  —  coals  from  Sidney  or  Pictou  being  accessible  at  all 
seasons. 

Tth.  The  labor  market  in  Nova  Scotia  is  far  more  favorable 
than  that  of  California  or  Australia,  and  constitutes  an  element  of 
great  importance  in  calculations  of  pi'ofits. 

8th.  The  average  productiveness  of  the  quartz  veins  in  Nova 
Scotia,  is  believed  to  be  quite  as  good  as  that  of  the  quartz  mines 
of  California  and  Australia,  while  the  experience  which  was  so 
dearly  purchased  in  those  countries,  is  now  available,  without 
cost,  for  your  advantage.  It  is  well  known  that  most  of  the 
veins  which  were  worked  there  with  loss  by  the  early  ad- 
venturers, how  return  satisfactory  profits  to  the  present  holders 
with  a  good  svstem  o       bor  and  machinerv. 

9th.  Alluvial  deposits   are   as  yet   almost  unknown  in  Nova 

Scotia,  nor  can  they  be  expected  to  occur,  as  a  general  rule,  for 

reasons  stated.     But  you  possess  in  Copper's  Lake  a  place  where 

alluvial  gold  occurs,  and  with  the  water  power  at  hand  to  test  it. 

All  which  is  respectfully  submitted  by 

Your  obedient  servant, 

B.  SILLDFAN,  Jk., 

Prof,  of  Chemistry,  d-c, 
Yale  College. 

New  Haven,  Ct.,  January  20,  1864. 


54 


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APPENDIX  B. 

Xew  York,  January  '2.i,  It  S4. 
Ne,.  York  and  Xova  Scotia  Gold  Mixing  Company. 
Gentlemen  : 

Agreeable  to  your  request,  the  samples  of  gold    „,   fr„„,  Tangier,  Xova 

t;: :  z::z^;zr''' '""-"'  '*^' """  ^»"™' '» ™""^"  «°^-'  p- 

1 .  ^lixed  ore  containing  visible  gold ii,igQ2  l" 

2.  Pyritic  "  "      no   "  "  ' "  "         T     - 

3.  Black     '•  <'...< 

.      T>  <<  15  51 

4.  Brown   "  "  i>         4. 

5.  White    '•  "  a         <.    '   "^ 

,.,,.,       „  U  63 

0.    Mixed   "  finest  portion  silted       (j2  03 

Yours  respectfully, 

EDWARD  N.  KENT. 

Chemist, 

APPENDIX   C. 

United  Status  Assay  Office    } 
NewYork,  .V-23,  18C3.'  \ 
New  Yokk  and  N«A'a  Scotia  Gold  Company. 
Gentlemen : 

Your  sample  of  ore,  left  several  days  ago,  yields  gold  and  silver  at  tl.e  follow- 

Gold  per  ton  (2000  lbs. I «i  oo  i  o 

Silver     "  "  $122  l.S 

2  67 

!^124  80 
Respectfully,  &e.. 

JOHN  TORRY, 

Assaycr. 


/ 


